The closing arguments for both the defence and the prosecution in the case of Vojislav Seselj will begin on Monday and last until March 15.
“It is expected that the prosecution will complete its argument by March 7, while the closing argument for the defence will take place between March 12 until 15,” says Nerma Jelacic, spokesperson of the International Criminal Court for Former Yugoslavia, ICTY.
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Timeline: |
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1954: Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, then part of Yugoslavia 1971: Becomes a member of the Communist League 1984: Convicted of counter-revolutionary activities and sentenced to two years in prison 1990: Founds the Serbian Chetnik Movement, which was banned shortly after 1991: Forms the Serbian Radical Party 1991: Elected to the Serbian Parliament 1991: Gains a reputation as a vicious warlord in the conflict in Croatia and Bosnia 1993: Splits with Milosevic and forces dissolution of the parliament 1998: Rejoins Milosevic’s government to become the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia 2002: Runs for president in the election and receives 36.3 per cent of the vote 2003: Indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; surrenders to the court 2007: The trial begins after one unsuccessful attempt and a hunger strike by the accused 2009: Sentenced for contempt of court 2012: Requests 2 million Euro reparation for the violation of his human rights by the ICTY |
Vojislav Seselj, the leader of the nationalist Serbian Radical Party, is defending himself.
According to the decision of the Trial Chamber, each side in the process will have around 10 hours to present its arguments.
The ICTY filed charges against Seselj in 2003 for persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds, deportation and inhumane acts as well as for the violation of customs of war during conflicts in the former Yugoslavia from 1991 until 1993.
According to the indictment, Seselj planned and ordered an ethnic cleansing of non-Serb population from the territory which the Serbian authorities referred to as the Serbian Autonomous Region during the 1990s.
The territory consisted of Slavonija, Baranja and Western Srem, as well as parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Serbian province of Vojvodina.
Known for his oratory and extreme rhetoric, during the conflict Seselj mobilised not only the armed wing of his Serbian Radical Party, but other Serb forces as well, inciting them to persecute Croats and Bosniaks.
Seselj voluntarily surrendered to the ICTY in 2003, but his trial began in 2007, after several failed attempts and a hunger strike by the accused.
Recently Seselj has been in the news following a heart surgery in January.
His medical condition has been politicised by members of his party who accuse the Hague Tribunal of mistreating their leader.
On January 30, Seselj requested damages from the Hague Tribunal, worth 2 million Euro, for violating his basic human rights during detention.
Legal proceedings in the Seselj case have taken nine years so far, making it one of the longest cases in the history of the ICTY.
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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.