Prosecutors Renew Calls to Impose Counsel on Seselj

Prosecutors bringing a case against nationalist Serb politician Vojislav Seselj at the Yugoslav Tribunal in The Hague have again called on judges to assign him a lawyer to present his case.



They argue that since Seselj was convicted of contempt of the tribunal on July 24 for publishing the details of three protected witnesses in a book, the court should now curtail his right to represent himself in his main war crimes trial.



War crimes proceedings against Seselj, which began in November 2007, are currently suspended due to allegations that he and his associates intimidated witnesses.



Last month’s conviction for contempt “demonstrate[s] that Seselj’s conduct represents: a deliberate and continued disrespect for various protective measure orders of this trial chamber; a serious interference with the administration of justice; and, the disregard for the safety of witnesses”, prosecutors wrote in a court filing on August 27.



According to the prosecution’s request, Seselj has also failed to remove the offending book from his website, as he was ordered to do by the special panel of judges who heard the contempt case.



The prosecution says his failure to comply is symptomatic of Seselj’s disrespect for the court.



Prosecutors previously asked for counsel to be imposed on Seselj on July 28, 2008, arguing that he was “substantially and persistently obstructing the proceedings” by interfering with witnesses and using his trial for political purposes.



Being allowed to conduct his own defence has enabled Seselj to have ready access to confidential information and private communication with his associates in Serbia, as well as giving him the opportunity to make political speeches while presenting his case in court, prosecutors argued at the time.



Seselj remains the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, SRS, which he runs from his prison cell in The Hague.



However, the chamber never made a decision on the prosecution’s request of last July, and in its response at the time, cited further allegations pending against Seselj at the court.



In addition to the specific charges relating to the recent contempt proceedings, prosecutors made separate allegations in January this year that Seselj was intimidating witnesses, prompting judges to suspend his war crimes trial the following month.



Seselj and his associates have denied intimidating witnesses and in a court hearing last week, Seselj said that as no further proceedings had been brought against him concerning such allegations, there was no reason to suspend the trial any longer.



Seselj argues he has the right to represent himself during his trial. He opposed the motion from July last year to assign him a lawyer and rejected the prosecution’s allegations that he misused confidential material or obstructed court proceedings.



But in their submission this week, prosecutors invoked tribunal rules which state that judges may impose a lawyer in the interests of justice.



“The presumptive right to self-representation is not absolute, and may in appropriate circumstances be curtailed,” they wrote in the filing.



“Seselj has demonstrated he has no respect for the tribunal or the proper administration of justice, hence he can no longer be permitted to perform the role of counsel. The integrity of the proceedings cannot be sacrificed in the name of self-representation,” they added.



Seselj is on trial accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1990s Yugoslav wars.



The charges against him include murder, torture and persecution allegedly committed as he sought to drive out non-Serbs from parts of Croatia and Bosnia between August 1991 and September 1993.



Judges are currently in the process of hearing arguments from both parties as to whether the trial should now continue.



Simon Jennings is an IWPR reporter in The Hague.