Croatian Court Denies Early Release to ‘Captain Dragan’ Again

The county court in the Croatian city of Varazdin on Friday rejected a request for the early release of former Serbian paramilitary commander Dragan Vasiljkovic, widely known as Captain Dragan.

Vasiljkovic applied for conditional release because he has served two-thirds of his sentence.

The court said in a statement that he was "uncritical of the acts that were committed, which he denies, and he finds the punishment undeserved".

This is Vasiljkovic's second request for the early release after the first was denied last November for the same reason.

The court also said that Vasiljkovic has compared the Lepoglava prison in northern Croatia, where he is serving his sentence, with a Nazi camp and that "he creates a false impression in public that he is a victim of Croatian justice and discrimination on a national [ethnic] basis".

His 13-and-a-half year sentence is due to end in March 2020.

Vasiljkovic was found guilty of committing his crimes at the fortress in Knin in June and July 1991, where imprisoned Croatian policemen and soldiers were abused, as well as during an attack on a police station in the town of Glina and surrounding villages in July 1991, which result in the killing of one civilian and a journalist.

He was extradited to Croatia in 2015 from Australia, where he had been working as a golf instructor under the name Daniel Snedden.

He had moved to Australia at the age of 14 but returned to Yugoslavia before the start of the 1990s conflicts and was then sent by the authorities in Belgrade to be the commander of a training centre for a Serb special paramilitary unit in Croatia in 1991.

His defence said it would challenge Friday's decision.

"We have three days to appeal, and we will appeal," lawyer...