In a sweeping defeat for U.N. prosecutors, the Yugoslav war crimes
tribunal acquitted Serbian ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj on Thursday March 31,2016
of all nine counts alleging that he was responsible for or incited
atrocities by Serbian paramilitaries in the 1990s wars in Bosnia and
Croatia.
Prosecutors had charged Seselj, 61, with crimes including persecution, murder and torture and had demanded a 28-year sentence.
But in a majority decision, the three-judge panel said there was insufficient evidence linking himSeselj to the crimes.
“Following this verdict, Vojislav Seselj is now a free man,” Presiding Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti at the hearing in The Hague, which Seselj did not attend.
At a press conference shortly after his acquittal, Seselj, who defended himself throughout his trial, said the decision was “the only possible one from the legal aspect.”
Serbian ultranationalist politician
Vojislav Seselj, center, speaks at a press conference in Belgrade,
Serbia, Thursday, March 31, 2016
“After so many proceedings in which innocent Serbs were given draconian punishments, this time two honest judges showed they valued honor more than political pressure,” he said.
Prosecutors had charged Seselj, 61, with crimes including persecution, murder and torture and had demanded a 28-year sentence.
But in a majority decision, the three-judge panel said there was insufficient evidence linking himSeselj to the crimes.
“Following this verdict, Vojislav Seselj is now a free man,” Presiding Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti at the hearing in The Hague, which Seselj did not attend.
At a press conference shortly after his acquittal, Seselj, who defended himself throughout his trial, said the decision was “the only possible one from the legal aspect.”
“After so many proceedings in which innocent Serbs were given draconian punishments, this time two honest judges showed they valued honor more than political pressure,” he said.
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