Šešelj's verdict to be delivered in absentia on March 31

The Hague Tribunal will deliver the verdict for Vojislav Šešelj on Thursday, March 31, in the absence of the accused, the Trial Chamber of the Hague Tribunal decided.

The Chamber of Presiding Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti accepted the argument of the Government of Serbia that it is not possible to interrupt Šešelj's cancer treatment, nor to continue the treatment in The Hague, which is why the verdict for the leader of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) will be delivered in his absence.

According to the Chamber's decision, the Government of Serbia presented this argument in a letter to the Tribunal regarding the difficulties that would arise from returning Šešelj from temporary liberty in Serbia, where he has been since November 2014.

The Chamber of the Hague Tribunal has left Šešelj the option to follow the delivery of the verdict via video link from Belgrade. Šešelj should inform the Tribunal by March 22 whether he wishes to follow the delivery of the verdict or not, according to the decision.

The Trial Chamber made the decision by a majority vote of Presiding Judge Antonetti and Judge Flavia Lattanzi, with a dissenting opinion from the third judge, Mandyae Niang, who disagreed that the presented reasons justified the delivery of the verdict in the absence of the accused.

This will be the first verdict to be delivered in the absence of the accused at the Tribunal.

Šešelj is accused of crimes against Croats and Bosniaks in Croatia, Vojvodina, and Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1991 to 1993.

The prosecution, in its closing statement, requested that he be sentenced to 28 years in prison, while Šešelj, who defended himself, requested to be acquitted, writes BIRN, reports Patria.