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Germany Jails Ex-Yugoslav Spies For Dissident Murder


A German court has sentenced two former Yugoslav intelligence chiefs to life in prison for masterminding the murder of a dissident in Germany more than 30 years ago.

Croats Josip Perkovic, 71, and Zdravko Mustac, 74, top officials in the communist-era Yugoslav secret service, were found guilty of complicity in the murder of Stjepan Durekovic, also a Croat, in the state of Bavaria in 1983.

Croatia extradited the two men in 2014.

Prosecutors alleged that Durekovic's murder was ordered by a leading Yugoslav politician.

According to the indictment, Durekovic's dissident activities had appeared to be the motive for his murder, but the politician actually wanted to prevent Durekovic from disclosing his son's illegal business dealings in the state-owned gasoline company INA.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa

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