THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Feb 17 (Hina) - The UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Tuesday appointed Dutch attorney Tjard van der Spoel a new stand-by defence attorney for Vojislav Seselj, who was charged with 14 counts of crimes against
humanity and war crimes against Croats, Bosniaks and other non-Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Vojvodina.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Feb 17 (Hina) - The UN war crimes tribunal in The
Hague on Tuesday appointed Dutch attorney Tjard van der Spoel a new
stand-by defence attorney for Vojislav Seselj, who was charged with 14
counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes against Croats,
Bosniaks and other non-Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and
Vojvodina.#L#
Judge Carmel Agius said at a status conference today that Seselj's
previous stand-by attorney, Aleksandar Lazarevic from Belgrade, had
decided to sue Seselj for slander before another court, which
prevented his further engagement.
Lazarevic filed the slander lawsuit following serious accusations
which Seselj levelled against him at his last appearance before the
tribunal and in written motions, when he requested that Lazarevic be
held in contempt.
Seselj stressed today he stuck by his decision to defend himself and
that he did not recognise the stand-by defence counsel.
Judge Agius told him that his defence counsel was appointed by the UN
tribunal and that it was irrelevant if he accepted it or not.
Behaving theatrically as usually, Seselj turned today's hearing into a
spectacle again, repeating his previous requests for all materials to
be translated "into Serbian as the only language I understand" and
that judges' robes be replaced with suits because they reminded him
unbearably of "the Catholic Inquisition and Gestapo and SS uniforms".
Judge Agius interrupted him at first but then let him state his
requests, answering only that they would not be considered.
Seselj said he had information that the prosecution would not be ready
for his trial before 2006, because it lacked evidence against him.
Speaking about his defence, he expressed readiness for the trial to
start immediately, claiming that he would defeat both "protected and
public witnesses" with his arguments.
Prosecutor Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff said she had received Seselj's
250-page concept of defence and announced that the prosecution would
respond to it soon.
The accused protested against his being "completely isolated" in the
Scheveningen prison, claiming the reason for that was the election
success of his Serb Radical Party, to which the judge replied he
should complain to the tribunal's president, Theodore Meron.
(Hina) rml sb