A team of Serbian doctors went to the Hague Tribunal on Thursday to examine the medical condition of Serbian politician and war crimes defendant Vojislav Seselj.
At the request of Seselj, the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, has allowed the indictee to be examined by the Serbian team.
“This is a team of doctors that Seselj chose. They will be in the Hague for two days and then they will return home,” Serbian Minister of Health Zoran Stankovic said.
The complete costs of the Serbian medical crew, which is around €2,500, will be covered by the Serbian Ministry of Health.
Seselj’s wife, Jadranka, told media on Wednesday that Seselj’s condition is improving, but that this is a chance for doctors whom he trusts to examine him.
Seselj, the leader of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party, received pacemaker surgery on January 12 and was subsequently hospitalized on several occasions.
The Serbian Radical Party has accused the Tribunal of not providing adequate care for its party president, while ICTY spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic said Seselj received the highest level of medical care in both the detention unit and the civilian hospital.
Up until now, Seselj has refused to publicly announce his health condition, and has forbidden the Tribunal from informing the Council of Judges about the state of his health.
According to the ICTY, the next administrative hearing in Seselj’s case will be held on February 7.
Seselj is charged with crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Vojvodina during the wars there. He has been held in The Hague Tribunal's Detention Unit since February 24, 2003, when he surrendered to police.
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Timeline of events in the case against 13 former Serb fighters charged with committing war crimes in the villages of Cuska, Zahac, Ljubenic and Pavlac in Kosovo in 1999.