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Slovenia's constitutional court orders retrial of ex-PM Jansa


    LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia's constitutional court annulled a two-year prison sentence for former prime minister Janez Jansa on Thursday citing procedural irregularities and ordered a retrial of his corruption case.

    Jansa, a two-term prime minister of the small euro zone member country, will be free pending the new trial, the court said in a statement. It said the annulment had been approved unanimously.

    Jansa was sentenced to two years in prison in June 2013 for bribery in the planned purchase of 135 armoured vehicles from Finnish defence group Patria in 2006 while he was prime minister. The deal was eventually cancelled.

    Jansa denied taking money from Patria. He said the trial was politically motivated and appealed against the sentence.

    Parliament stripped Jansa, leader of the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), of his status as a lawmaker in October last year due to his sentence.

    He was elected to parliament in a snap election last summer while already serving his prison sentence.

    (Reporting by Marja Novak; Writing by Zoran Radosavljevic; Editing by Gareth Jones)