Munich - A Croatian exile was jailed for life Wednesday for organizing the Cold War assassination of a writer by a Yugoslav hit squad in the southern German city of Munich 25 years ago. In 1983, Stjepan Djurekovic was shot and bludgeoned to death in a printing plant owned by the exile, who he thought was his friend.
In fact, Krunoslav P was a mole working for the SDB secret services of former Yugoslavia and spying on German-based Croatian exiles.
Germany arrested the exile three years ago. A lengthy trial heard how P, now aged 58, contemplated doing the murder personally, but then left the job to three agents from Yugoslavia who were never caught.
Durekovic had been a business executive till he fled to Germany in 1982 and began writing articles criticizing the communist system.
His July 28, 1983 murder was aimed at preventing him blowing the whistle on corruption by the son of a senior Yugoslav political figure. Durekovic had been in fear of his life, rarely leaving his Munich home, but trusted the printer of exile magazines.
P, who has lived in Germany since 1971, posed as an opponent to the Belgrade government, was active in exile groups and won the trust of Djurekovic. But from 1975 on, he had in fact been working for the SDB espionage service, prosecutors explained.
Judges in Munich said Wednesday the accused was absent during the killing because he had not been able to arrange a false alibi.
Instead, he provided the agents with access to his printing workshop at Wolfratshausen near Munich.
