ZAGREB, CROATIA - On several occasions, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic called me a war profiteer and a general without a single day on the battle field, using terms like a vulgar man. However, what is even sleazier is that he claimed that I was an illegitimate child of [first Croatian president Franjo] Tudjman, which was reported by all the media, retired Croatian general Vladimir Zagorec said, stating his defence at the Zagreb County Court in the “jewels scandal”.

- In 2004, after my son Tomislav was kidnapped, the first statement Mesic gave the media was that it is yet to be revealed how I came up with 750,000 euros for the ransom. From the Hypo Bank, this is how, I am still paying off that loan today. However, when Novica Petrac was arrested for kidnapping my son, Mesic told the media that a man cannot be accused until proven guilty. What about justice? – Zagorec wondered, adding that the entire lynch on him was created because he stepped on certain people`s foot, and it is very clear how far the mafia`s reach is in Croatia.

The campaign headed by Mesic and Anto Nobilo is that anything can be done to me. This is supported by the fact that an unidentified man came into my attorney`s office on February 3 and offered evidence which state that I never saw the jewels, however I was to pay 3 million euros for that.

Vladimir Zagorec

According to him, the story about the jewels would never have come up if he had paid for his son`s ransom and kept quiet about it, i.e. not told the police. This is what many other people did, he claims, according to his information, including Luka Rajic and Zeljko Selendic. He attained other enemies, as he calls Snjezana Siprak and Terezija Barbaric, because of money. According to him, the latter copied all documents with orders from the Defence Ministry, after advice by Jozo Martinovic. Dubravko Barbaric, Terezija`s husband then came across the documents and supposedly, according to Zagorec, blackmailed the Croatian Defence Ministry.

- He threatened to take the documents on purchasing weapons to the American Embassy and wanted some money, which was not paid, of course. She even told me, on one occasion while we were at a meeting with Miroslav Separovic, that Dubravko said something might happen to my son if the money is not paid. Separovic reported all of this to the police and the State Attorney`s Office, but nothing came of it, just like there was not solving the case when I was beaten up. I gave police evidence that I was beaten up by the Matekovic brothers – Zagorec said.

Whole Of Croatia Is Against Me, President Too

Once again, she approached Zagorec and told him that she was leaving her husband and that she urgently needed 20,000 or 30,000 euros, which he had to give to her. Although he offered less money, he said that the fact she claimed he had to give her the money angered him and he walked away. Zagorec recalled that the troubles with Snjezana Siprak went away when he remarried and moved to Austria. This is when, he said, Siprak told him on several occasions, that someone was sending her threatening letters, writing she had to get away from him. He thought the letters were written by a woman. This did not make any sense, because he could not understand why someone who is not his wife or mother, but former secretary, would have to get away from him.

In 2004, after my son Tomislav was kidnapped, the first statement Mesic gave the media was that it is yet to be revealed how I came up with 750,000 euros for the ransom. From the Hypo Bank, this is how, I am still paying off that loan today.

Vladimir Zagorec

- When Snjezana Sipak started frequently calling me and my wife, I thought she might feel threatened because of my departure, that she was scared because she was alone and had no protection, that there would be nobody to buy medicine for her and similar things which I did for years. However, now I think someone started this project already, to destroy me and this was all staged by a person with the right information – Zagorec said, adding that he snapped after Siprak started coming to his wife`s company and insinuated to employees that she was being threatened by someone near them, which is the additional confirmation for this `second` theory.

Petrac`s letters to Pukanic were ignored by the State Attorney`s Office

Zagorec also touched on his indictment which surprises him most, because the State Attorney`s Office reacted to some claims on some jewels which German arms trader Josef Rotaichner supposedly gave to Zagorec. Rotaichner told the court he did no such thing. However, Zagorec said that nobody reacted to his complaints over several matters, including letters of Hrvoje Petrac to reporter Ivo Pukanic.

- In these letters, he clearly talks about the Cactus, i.e. Mesic and the one who has toothache, i.e. Mladen Bajic who was promised certain things if he handed me over. Then my encounter with Mesic`s advisor Sasa Perkovic, which took place as Mesic insisted. However, I arranged with the Austrian prosecution to have the meeting recorded. If I had listened to Perkovic, everything would have been fine, i.e. if I had collaborated. He told me this himself, because they though I had some documents which I didn`t and when they realised this or when it turned out that I played them, then it was punches left and right – Zagorec concluded.

Addressing the court, the retired general said that testimonies of Snjezana Siprak and Terezija Barbaric were sheer fabrications, because, as he said, if there had been some jewels, he surely would not have been so retarded to show them to his secretary. Zagorec said that Ivo Pukanic had to have been involved to intensify the story, because Pukanic introduced the boxes with the jewels to the matter, and that identical boxes can be purchased anywhere in Austria.

The campaign headed by Mesic and Anto Nobilo is that anything can be done to me. This is supported by the fact that an unidentified man came into my attorney`s office on February 3 and offered evidence which state that I never saw the jewels, however I was to pay 3 million euros for that. On the contrary, that person would go to the State Attorney`s Office and say they sold these phantom jewels on by behalf. This situation states that such rudeness and arrogance must have police protection or from the political top. I was never afraid of the underground, whether they were once my friends or not. I was never afraid of politician pressures, this is why my family and I have a thousand problems today, Zagorec said.