Seselj Wants the Hagues Chief Prosecutor Brammertz Relieved
This post is also available in: Bosnian
After the UN-backed courts chief prosecutor asked Seselj to be returned to custody immediately, Seselj responded by filing a motion requesting Brammertz to be disqualified from further proceedings and relieved of his position by the UN Security Council.
Seselj said prosecutor Brammertz should be a guardian of international justice, but doesnt behave that way. He accused Brammertz of being biased, due to his public comments on the case, his interpretation of his statements, and his interpretation of decisions made by the tribunals trial and appeals chambers.
Based on these arguments, it is evident that Brammertz is biased, a man of low moral character and susceptible to being influenced. It is therefore in the interest of justice and the respect of legal standards that such a person not be allowed to remain in office as a prosecutor, Seselj said.
On Tuesday, Brammertz demanded that Seselj be swiftly returned to detention for breaching the terms of his temporary release, which was granted for medical treatment.
On March 30, the appeals chamber ordered the trial chamber to immediately issue an order revoking Seseljs provisional release. However, that order has still not been issued as the trial chamber requested additional documentation on Seseljs health problems.
Seselj is the head of one of Serbias most extreme nationalist parties, and is on trial for war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia. He is also suffering from cancer, and was given a temporary release last November on humanitarian grounds.
Seselj had been in custody since 2003, when he voluntarily surrendered himself to the tribunal.
The verdict in his case was scheduled for October 2013, but was postponed after one of the judges in the trial was removed for alleged bias. The new judge is expected to familiarise himself with the details of the case by June 2015, causing yet another delay in the marathon trial.
