Martic's attorney Predrag Milovancevic dedicated most of his closing statement to explaining that Serbs in Croatia had been exposed to continued hatred and terror during the past century, drawing parallels between Croatian authorities and Hitler's Germany.
The attorney was interrupted several times by the judges, who asked him to refrain from testifying and stick to evidence presented during the trial. The attorney eventually apologised to the judges for calling their decisions uncivilised.
Milovancevic also requested that the judges disregard the testimony of the former prime minister of the self-styled Republic of Serb Krajina, Milan Babic, claiming that the manner in which he had committed suicide proved that he had been deranged.
Babic, who testified at Martic's trial, committed suicide in the detention unit by putting a plastic bag over his head and hanging himself.
Although he did not complete his testimony, the trial chamber accepted it as evidence incriminating Martic.
The prosecution on Wednesday sought a life sentence for Martic.
Martic, former minister of the interior and president of the self-styled Republic of Serb Krajina, is charged with 19 counts of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war.
The indictment says that from August 1991 until August 1995, while participating in a joint criminal enterprise, Martic ordered and instigated persecutions, extermination, murders, imprisonment, torture, deportation, wanton destruction and plunder in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The alleged purpose of the joint criminal enterprise, led by former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, was the forcible and permanent removal of the non-Serb population from the Serb-held areas of Croatia.
Martic is also charged with the shelling of the Croatian capital in May 1995 and with a series of other crimes that left hundreds of Croatian civilians killed.
Martic has been in the tribunal's custody since May 15, 2002. His trial began on December 13, 2005.