Grabar-Kitarović: Croatia will do everything to ensure justice is served

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, who is on an official visit to Bulgaria, said that she considers Vojislav Šešelj one of the greatest criminals in this region and that the acquittal by the Hague Tribunal is a shameful act of international criminal law, reports the BH News Agency Patria.

- Today's acquittal of one of the greatest criminals in our region is truly a huge blow to international criminal law. It is simply shameful - Grabar-Kitarović told reporters in Sofia, Hina reports.

The Croatian President says that, considering that the Hague Tribunal had sentenced Šešelj to four years and nine months in prison only for showing disrespect to the court and for threatening witnesses in some cases, and today acquitted him of charges of incitement and instigation of extermination, destruction of entire peoples, and genocide, it truly cannot be anything other than a defeat for international criminal law.

- Today we pray for all his victims and the victims of the Greater Serbian policy, from Vukovar through Škabrnje to Sarajevo, Srebrenica, and Kosovo - stated Grabar Kitarović. She also believes that Croatia is today a free and independent state, and no one will take that away from it.

- Šešelj's policy suffered its first and greatest defeat precisely in Croatia. And that is irreversible. We need to think about that - stated the Croatian President, emphasizing that Croatia cannot and will not accept this shameful verdict and will continue to do everything in its power, as she said, to ensure justice is served.

- International law may have failed today, but believe me, justice will not! - stated Grabar-Kitarović.

A peaceful protest rally was held on Ban Jelačić Square in the center of Zagreb due to the acquittal of Vojislav Šešelj in The Hague, which ended after about 20 minutes, and activists held papers with the names of places mentioned in the indictment.

- Shame on the court, injustice for the victims, was written on the papers held by the attendees.