Supporters welcome Šešelj as he returns to Serbia

Supporters welcome Šešelj as he returns to Serbia

Rasim Ljajić, the Serbian deputy prime minister and president of the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal (ICTY) told the daily Danas earlier that no government representative will greet Šešelj.

Zoran Krasić, vice president of the SRS, told the paper that they were expecting the arrival of Šešelj at about 13:00 CET, while it would be up to him whether to go to Batajnica or Zemun. He added that the Radicals included no government representative in the protocol for their leader's welcome.

The party also announced a rally in Belgrade on Saturday, November 15, which Šešelj is expected to address.

In announcing the rally, SRS official Nemanja Šarović stated that the Radicals had information that "the regime would try to, in every possible way, create some incident and cast a shadow over the arrival of Vojislav Šešelj."

Šarović added that the SRS and the Committee for the Defense of Vojislav Šešelj "do not need any incidents and are certain that nothing ugly would happen at that gathering."

Justice Minister Nikola Selaković said he saw no political motive behind the the provisional release of the Hague indictee, and said that the government fulfilled all the obligations that had been placed "without distinguishing between Šešelj and any other defendant."

The Hague Tribunal in the meantime issued a separate opinion of Judge Mandiaye Niang, where he disagreed with the decision not to ask the accused whether he would respect the conditions for his release, considering that he refused to do so in the past.

Šešelj has been granted provisional release due to his poor health.