Hague: Šešelj seeks acquittal, damages

Vojislav Seselj asked from the Hague Trial Chamber on Monday to be acquitted of all counts in the indictment against him. The leader of the Serb Radical Party (SRS), who voluntarily surrendered in early 2003 and has been undergoing a war crimes trial since, also asked the court to pay him compensation for having had to spend more than eight years in detention. Hague: Seselj seeks acquittal, damages "I recommend that you order the acquittal of all counts of the indictment, since there is no evidence for conviction, and I request to be paid a compensation for having had to spent more than eight years in detention without any reason whatsoever and for all that I have suffered over the past eight years," Seselj argued in an attempt to demonstrate that the prosecution has not proven any charges against him. During the Monday hearing, the SRS leader contested the charges against him, protesting he was not guilty of participating in a joint criminal enterprise or of the persecution of non-Serbs in the former Yugoslavia on political, racial and religious grounds. "Serbs had no intention of drivin Croats and Muslims away by committing crimes, but to maintain a state-level status quo, to preserve Yugoslavia which offered them protection. Croats and Muslims wished to secede and that was a forbidden goal, according to the SFRJ Constitution. In other words, they had a criminal goal," Seselj told the chamber. As for the crimes, they happened "spontaneously", he said, "without the intention of the Serb forces to commit them". He also rejected the prosecution's claim that Serbs wished to create a new Serb state "by annexing parts of Bosnia and Croatia territory". "This was not about creating a new state under Serb domination, but about preserving the existing state," said Seselj, and noted that preserving Yugoslavia was his goal at the time - in the early 1990s. Seselj argued that the proceedings had shown he was not in The Hague over the war crime charges, but rather because the Americans, the British and the European Union did not want him to be in Belgrade. "It would be the greatest misfortune to make Serbia part of the European Union," Seselj stressed, adding that this must be prevented by all means, as there are Serbia's enemies. At the beginning of the hearing, the Trial Chamber granted the request of the SRS president to be given three hours for presenting his arguments on Monday and to be given an additional hour for rebuttal after the prosecution's argument on Tuesday. A response to Seselj's request should be issued by the Trial Chamber in the next few weeks. Seselj is on trial for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war in Croatia, Vojvodina and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the period between 1991 and 1993. Vojislav Seselj

Hague: Šešelj seeks acquittal, damages

"I recommend that you order the acquittal of all counts of the indictment, since there is no evidence for conviction, and I request to be paid a compensation for having had to spent more than eight years in detention without any reason whatsoever and for all that I have suffered over the past eight years," Šešelj argued in an attempt to demonstrate that the prosecution has not proven any charges against him.

During the Monday hearing, the SRS leader contested the charges against him, protesting he was not guilty of participating in a joint criminal enterprise or of the persecution of non-Serbs in the former Yugoslavia on political, racial and religious grounds.

"Serbs had no intention of drivin Croats and Muslims away by committing crimes, but to maintain a state-level status quo, to preserve Yugoslavia which offered them protection. Croats and Muslims wished to secede and that was a forbidden goal, according to the SFRJ Constitution. In other words, they had a criminal goal," Šešelj told the chamber.

As for the crimes, they happened "spontaneously", he said, "without the intention of the Serb forces to commit them".

He also rejected the prosecution's claim that Serbs wished to create a new Serb state "by annexing parts of Bosnia and Croatia territory".

"This was not about creating a new state under Serb domination, but about preserving the existing state," said Šešelj, and noted that preserving Yugoslavia was his goal at the time - in the early 1990s.

Šešelj argued that the proceedings had shown he was not in The Hague over the war crime charges, but rather because the Americans, the British and the European Union did not want him to be in Belgrade.

"It would be the greatest misfortune to make Serbia part of the European Union," Šešelj stressed, adding that this must be prevented by all means, as there are Serbia's enemies.

At the beginning of the hearing, the Trial Chamber granted the request of the SRS president to be given three hours for presenting his arguments on Monday and to be given an additional hour for rebuttal after the prosecution's argument on Tuesday.

A response to Šešelj's request should be issued by the Trial Chamber in the next few weeks.

Šešelj is on trial for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war in Croatia, Vojvodina and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the period between 1991 and 1993.