Hague: Šešelj trial postponed

The trial of Vojislav Seselj has been postponed until the Hague Tribunal’s appeals chamber decides on a prosecution motion. Prosecutor Darryl Mandis said that the process cannot continue until “the questions of witness intimidation have been answered and until the question of a defender is solved”, according to Beta news agency. Hague: Seselj trial postponed Seselj stated that the prosecution wants to have "a Kafkaesque process” and once again warned that if a defense lawyer were to be imposed on him he would not participate in the trial. The trial chamber recently decided not to postpone the proceedings and scheduled the continuation for today, but the prosecution asked for permission to file an appeal, naming this, too, as grounds for postponing the process. Despite Seselj’s protests, the trial chamber gave the go ahead for the postponement, and called on the appeals council to quickly reach a decision on the prosecution’s requests. Seselj has also been given a month to write a letter stating his arguments against the court imposing a defense lawyer to his case. The leader of the Serb Radical Party (SRS) said earlier that the demand of the prosecution to assign a lawyer to his case violates “basic and undeniable rights to a defense and “o an expedient process, which has been hampered over the last six years by the prosecution and various trial chambers on many occasions”. “My right to a defense is sacred and without it, there will not be a process… in fact, there will be a process, but either in my absence or posthumously, we will see… a process with my participation will not happen,” Seselj said. He also warned earlier that he would begin another hunger strike if a lawyer were imposed on him. Stating that the prosecution never presented him the evidence that points to him intimidating witnesses, which the prosecution’s postponement demand is based on, Seselj told the judges today, “You are being asked to directly and openly agree to a Kafkaesque process – for them to accuse me of other things and for me to not know what they are… that is unacceptable.” He said that if there is evidence of witness intimidation, the prosecution could charge him with being in contempt of the court, rather than ask for an attorney to be appointed to his defense. But he also dismissed the intimidation allegation by saying that it is “falsified and fake”. “The prosecution has not proven that I am incapable of defending myself. It proved only one thing – that it is not at my level, intellectually or professionally,” Seselj said, adding that he “tore apart” most of the prosecution’s witnesses, "while respecting the victims". According to him, the prosecution has finished only two-thirds of its case in the last nine months, and is now calling for a postponement of the trial “because they have no more witnesses”. Seselj therefore called for this request to be denied and for the judges to deem the prosecution's presenting of evidence complete unless a new witness is called by next week. Seselj is standing trial at the Hague Tribunal accused of war crimes against Croats and Muslims in Croatia, Vojvodina and Bosnia-Herzegovina in between 1991-1993.

Hague: Šešelj trial postponed

Šešelj stated that the prosecution wants to have "a Kafkaesque process” and once again warned that if a defense lawyer were to be imposed on him he would not participate in the trial.

The trial chamber recently decided not to postpone the proceedings and scheduled the continuation for today, but the prosecution asked for permission to file an appeal, naming this, too, as grounds for postponing the process.

Despite Šešelj’s protests, the trial chamber gave the go ahead for the postponement, and called on the appeals council to quickly reach a decision on the prosecution’s requests.

Šešelj has also been given a month to write a letter stating his arguments against the court imposing a defense lawyer to his case.

The leader of the Serb Radical Party (SRS) said earlier that the demand of the prosecution to assign a lawyer to his case violates “basic and undeniable rights to a defense and “o an expedient process, which has been hampered over the last six years by the prosecution and various trial chambers on many occasions”.

“My right to a defense is sacred and without it, there will not be a process… in fact, there will be a process, but either in my absence or posthumously, we will see… a process with my participation will not happen,” Šešelj said.

He also warned earlier that he would begin another hunger strike if a lawyer were imposed on him.

Stating that the prosecution never presented him the evidence that points to him intimidating witnesses, which the prosecution’s postponement demand is based on, Šešelj told the judges today, “You are being asked to directly and openly agree to a Kafkaesque process – for them to accuse me of other things and for me to not know what they are… that is unacceptable.”

He said that if there is evidence of witness intimidation, the prosecution could charge him with being in contempt of the court, rather than ask for an attorney to be appointed to his defense.

But he also dismissed the intimidation allegation by saying that it is “falsified and fake”.

“The prosecution has not proven that I am incapable of defending myself. It proved only one thing – that it is not at my level, intellectually or professionally,” Šešelj said, adding that he “tore apart” most of the prosecution’s witnesses, "while respecting the victims".

According to him, the prosecution has finished only two-thirds of its case in the last nine months, and is now calling for a postponement of the trial “because they have no more witnesses”.

Šešelj therefore called for this request to be denied and for the judges to deem the prosecution's presenting of evidence complete unless a new witness is called by next week.

Šešelj is standing trial at the Hague Tribunal accused of war crimes against Croats and Muslims in Croatia, Vojvodina and Bosnia-Herzegovina in between 1991-1993.