War Crimes Trial Against Serb Ultranationalist Underway

The trial began in November last year in the absence of Mr. Šešelj, who was then on a hunger strike and refusing to appear in court.

Vojislav Šešelj Photo courtesy: fokus-tjednik.hr

(THE HAGUE) - The Serbian ultranationalist politician Vojislav Šešelj used “poisonous ideas” to incite war crimes against non-Serbs during the Balkan wars of the 1990s, prosecutors at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said today as they outlined their case at his trial.

The prosecution said Mr. Šešelj – the president of the Serbian Radical Party – made speeches that led to the murder, torture and persecution of Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilians and their expulsion from parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Vojvodina region of Serbia between August 1991 and at least September 1993.

Mr. Šešelj, 53, is facing three counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes relating to his alleged role in an ethnic cleansing campaign by Serbian forces. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges, which include murder, torture, imprisonment and deportation.

Prosecutors made their opening statement today at the Tribunal, which is based in The Hague, and will start introducing evidence next month. Mr. Šešelj, who is representing himself, will have the opportunity to make an opening statement tomorrow.

The trial began in November last year in the absence of Mr. Šešelj, who was then on a hunger strike and refusing to appear in court. But the judges later adjourned the trial until he became fit enough to participate fully in the proceedings as a self-represented accused, and Mr. Šešelj – who had surrendered to the Tribunal in February 2003 – ended his hunger strike.

Story continues below

The indictment against him accuses Mr. Šešelj of taking part in a joint criminal enterprise with former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, among others, that led to the extermination and expulsion of non-Serb people with the aim of forming a greater Serbian state.

Reports From Iraq

Salem-News.com Top Stories
Salem Officer Tells Story of Wednesday's Mill Creek Rescue (VIDEO)

---

The War on Terror Does Not Exist

---

Beyond the Debate: Making an Informed Decision about Mammograms

---

A Fish Story

---

Army Announces Independent Body Armor Review

---

Name:

Enter the text from the image to confirm you are human.(Cookies are required)

HTML tags and certain characters are removed - (numbers, letters only or post may be cut short.) certain words are banned to stop spammers. All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied.