Croatian former minister sentenced to two years in prison for corruption

Former Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Gabrijela Žalac has been sentenced to two years in prison for corruption, under the terms of a plea deal with prosecutors.

Žalac and three other defendants - who remain on trial - are accused of influence peddling, abuse of office, and manipulating public procurement. According to prosecutors, their actions caused losses of at least 300,000 euros to Croatia and over 1 million euros to the European Union.

"I have no comment..." said Žalac as she left the Zagreb County Court on Thursday.

Personal comment: I bet she won't even serve the full two years. She will be released after a short while for "good behavior" or something like that...