Seselj Trial Adjourned Indefinitely

Judges at the Hague tribunal have suspended the trial of a Serb ultra-nationalist politician after prosecutors said the defendant had intimidated witnesses.



“The majority of the bench has decided to adjourn the testimony of the remaining witnesses,” Presiding Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti told the trial of Vojislav Seselj this week.



The prosecution presented oral arguments in court calling for proceedings to be adjourned on January 15.



“We believe, Your Honours, that there is clear evidence that the proceedings are being interfered with and the integrity of the proceedings is being compromised,” Prosecutor Daryl Mundis told judges that day.



The decision is effective until the judges decide otherwise.



Seselj, who remains the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, SRS, is on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Croatia and Bosnia between 1991 and 1993.



The charges against him include murder, torture and persecution as he allegedly sought to expel non-Serbs and create a so-called Greater Serbia.



Judges voted to suspend the trial by a majority of two to one, with Judge Antonetti objecting. He advised Seselj to appeal the decision so that “the appeal chamber can clearly state whether this trial should be interrupted or should be able to resume”.



Seselj has said that he does not plan to present a defence case in the war crimes trial and that he will give a closing statement after the prosecution concludes its evidence



The prosecution has already presented 71 witnesses.



Responding to the decision, Seselj accused prosecutors of fabricating their case, claiming that their witnesses had presented false evidence or even lied.



“It’s completely clear to me that this trial can never be ended naturally, regularly, legally, lawfully,” said Seselj.



“Because if it ended that way, you would have to decide to acquit me and to judge that I should be paid a compensation for all the years in this dungeon.”



The suspension comes on the back of the court’s decision to bring contempt of court charges against Seselj for allegedly revealing the names and personal details of protected witnesses in a book he published during the trial.



The court this week appointed Canadian prosecutor Bruce MacFarlane to argue the contempt charges against Seselj. The contempt trial is not expected to affect the proceedings in the war crimes case.



Simon Jennings is an IWPR reporter in The Hague.