The Australian authorities have released a Serb wanted in Croatia for war crimes after he won an extradition battle which kept him incarcerated for almost four years.

Earlier this week, a judge in Sydney ruled that Dragan Vasiljkovic could not be extradited to Croatia because he would not receive a fair trial. An order for his release was delayed until today to allow Croatia time to appeal.

The Serb has lived most of his life in Australia, but returned to the Balkans to fight for Serbia during the war in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Zagreb requested his extradition so that he could face trail for his alleged involvement in the torture and killing of Croatian civilians and prisoners of war.

Vasiljkovic has denied committing war crimes but has admitted in media interviews to killing in combat and interrogating enemy troops. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague considers Vasiljkovic a suspect but has never formally charged him.