CROATIA   –  A Croatian court has annulled the 1946 treason conviction of a Catholic cardinal, ruling that he did not receive a fair trial. Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, who died in 1960, initially supported the pro-Nazi Ustasha regime during World War Two, when he was Archbishop of Zagreb.

Critics say he should have done more to stop the Ustasha regime killing Jews, Serbs and Roma. In a 1942 mass he did however denounce racist attacks. Catholics want him declared a saint. The Zagreb County Court overturned the 1946 verdict on Friday, with Judge Ivan Turudic saying it had violated the right to a fair trial, prohibition of forced labor and the right to appeal. He said the goal had been “revenge against Stepinac”. The ruling is likely to fuel tensions with neighboring Serbia.(BBC.COM/photo: AFP)…[+]