The City of Zagreb unlawfully dispossessed the owners of a piece of land in the Gracani neighbourhood to build a car park for the Sljeme mountain cableway, the Justice and Administration Ministry confirmed to the Croatian state news agency Hina on Thursday.

On May 21, the Ministry annulled the decision by the city department for property relations and referred the case back to the City for reconsideration, after it found that the City had taken possession of the property in question before the expropriation decision became final.

According to media reports, the Ministry granted the appeal filed by a lawyer on behalf of one of the co-owners of the land, who died during the expropriation process. The City needed the land to build a car park at the foot of Mount Sljeme to serve cableway users.

While it was still not known who would inherit the property of the deceased co-owner, the City decided of its own accord that that would be his wife and daughter. The media reported that the wife never received a copy of the expropriation application and that the City ignored the fact that she is infirm and needs a guardian.

The City, on the other hand, argued during the appeal process that the whole case was conducted in accordance with the Roads Act and not the Expropriation Act and that the owners had been paid for their land.