UN court acquits Serbian ultranationalist of all counts

Published 10:05 am Thursday, March 31, 2016

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — In a sweeping defeat for U.N. prosecutors, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal acquitted Serbian ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj on Thursday of all nine counts alleging that he was responsible for or incited atrocities by Serbian paramilitaries in the 1990s Balkan wars. The ruling sparked joy in Serbia and outrage 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 the politician himself to the crimes.

“Following this verdict, Vojislav Seselj is now a free man,” Presiding Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti said at a hearing in The Hague, which Seselj did not attend.

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At a Belgrade news conference shortly after his acquittal, Seselj, who defended himself throughout his trial and did not call a single defense witness, 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.

The court’s chief prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, questioned a number of key findings by two of the three trial judges. He almost certainly will appeal, but said Thursday he first has to study the 100-page ruling and its dissenting opinions.