SCANDAL IN THE HAGUE: Vojislav Šešelj a free man!!!

Thirteen years after his voluntary surrender, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia acquitted Vojislav Šešelj of all charges!!!

With the acquittal on all nine counts of the indictment, Šešelj becomes a free man.

This is a first-instance verdict for the leader of the Serbian Radicals, charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed from 1991 to 1993 against the non-Serb population in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and against Vojvodina Croats, which he incited through hate speech and by sending his volunteer forces to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the proceedings, which began in 2007, 1,400 pieces of evidence were collected, 99 witnesses were heard, and the verdict runs to more than 100 pages, announced presiding judge of the Trial Chamber Jean-Claude Antonetti.

The prosecution does not need to demand direct, but indirect responsibility of Šešelj for persecution. There are no real elements for any criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity.

The Chamber assessed that the prosecutor did not present sufficient evidence that the following acts were committed: Murder in Crna Rijeka, cruel treatment of civilians in Ovčara and the warehouse, in the barracks in Semizovac, in Vogošća, as well as looting in Nevesinje.

The majority in the Chamber claims that the plans for a Greater Serbia were political, not criminal plans.

The Trial Chamber identified a series of omissions and errors. According to the Prosecution, the plan to achieve a Greater Serbia contained an implicit criminal element, which stemmed from the goal of uniting all Serbian territories. This would include deportation or forced displacement of the non-Serb population. The majority analyzed the evidence to determine whether this corresponds to a joint criminal enterprise.

The Chamber holds by majority that the Prosecution did not offer sufficient evidence to establish the commission of the following criminal acts - murder of non-Serb residents on a hill near Sarajevo, torture at Gerina slaughterhouse, and crimes in Vukovar. A systematic attack on the non-Serb civilian population in Vukovar and Mostar was not proven. The majority considers that there is insufficient contextual information about those destructions to allow an assessment.

The reading of the verdict proceeded without the presence of the accused, who announced that he would hold a press conference at 12:00 at the headquarters of the Serbian Radical Party in Belgrade. Šešelj has been on provisional release since November last year when the Tribunal released him due to his deteriorating health, specifically liver metastases from colorectal cancer.

The indictment against Šešelj consists of nine counts. Three counts charge him with crimes against humanity: persecution on political, racial or religious grounds, deportation and forced displacement.

Six counts of the indictment charge Šešelj with violations of the laws or customs of war: murder, torture and cruel treatment, wanton destruction and plunder of public or private property.