The prosecution moves that the Martic case be joined with the Simatovic and Stanisic case, after which a motion will be made to join those cases with the Seselj case, prosecutor Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff said at a status conference in the Seselj case.
Vojislav Seselj, a leader of the Serbian Radical Party, previously requested an explanation about rumours that his case will be joined with three other cases, one of them referring to a Croatian Serb rebel leader in eastern Slavonia, Goran Hadzic.
"I know where Hadzic is and who is protecting him. He will never be extradited," Seselj said. The prosecutor then stated that it made no sense to join Seselj's case with that of a runaway indictee.
Seselj categorically opposed the joinder motion, saying that he had nothing to do with police officers Stanisic and Simatovic but had rather been in a conflict with them, adding that he also had nothing in common with Martic.
He said that he had not sent his volunteers to Stanisic and Simatovic, but to the former Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), which was why it would be more logical for him to be tried along with JNA generals Veljko Kadijevic and Blagoje Adzic, who are not among tribunal indictees.
Pre-trial judge Carmel Aguis warned Seselj not to jump to conclusions, but to wait for the trial chamber to decide on the matter.
The Prosecutor's Office has proposed, as part of the ICTY's exit strategy, joining cases with similar factual bases, in order to meet the deadline for the completion of all trials by the end of 2008 and all appeals proceedings by the end of 2010.
During the status conference, Seselj presented a number of objections regarding his allegedly being discriminated by the judges, the prosecution and the prison management, the fact that the trial chamber has been waiting for six months to decide about a motion for the amendment of his indictment, lack of funds for his defence, which he is conducting on his own, and the prosecution's unwillingness to cooperate with him although he said he was ready to provide exculpatory evidence for some charges, such as the persecution of Vojvodina Croats. He also objected to the behaviour of his defence attorney whom he accused of making insulting remarks about him in his motions to the tribunal and whom he has reported to the Dutch Bar Association.
The leader of the Serbian Radical Party was indicted for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war committed against non-Serbs in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Vojvodina.
He surrendered voluntarily to the tribunal on 24 February 2004.
The former head of the Serbian State Security Service (SDB), Jovica Stanisic, his assistant Franko Simatovic, and the minister of defence and president of the Croatian Serb rebel state, Milan Martic, are accused of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war committed through the persecution of Croat civilians in formerly occupied Croatian areas, and of crimes against Croats and Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Martic surrendered voluntarily on 15 May 2002 and has been in custody since, while Stanisic and Simatovic were released pending trial in December 2004 although they had not surrendered voluntarily but were transferred to The Hague on 13 March 2003 after their arrest in Serbia.