The International Mechanism for Criminal Courts (IMCC) referred the case to Serbia against Vojislav Šešelj, Miljan Damjanović, Miroljub Ignjatović and Ljiljana and Ognjen Mihajlović, who are charged with contempt of court.
In his decision dated February 29, Judge Liu Daqun ordered that the case be sent to the competent judicial authorities in Serbia for trial, as well as that all information, including the indictment and evidence, be transferred to the Serbian prosecutor’s office as soon as possible, reports BIRN BiH.
He also invited the Prosecutor’s Office of Serbia to request any type of protective measures that may be necessary by requesting the President of the Mechanism. It directed the Registry to take appropriate measures, as soon as practicable, for the effective performance of the monitoring mechanisms and to report to the President.
In the decision, Judge Daqun states that in August of last year he confirmed the indictment according to which Sešelj, Damjanović, Ignjatović and Ljiljana and Ognjen Mihajlović are charged with knowingly and intentionally obstructing the administration of justice, disclosing information in violation of court orders, including witness protection orders, and failed to comply, without justification, with a court order to cease and desist from releasing classified information.
According to the decision, Serbia claims that all the legal conditions for the referral of the case are met, and it referred to its legal obligation to cooperate with the Mechanism. It was also noted that the accused reside in that country, and that “the alleged criminal behavior corresponds to a number of criminal offenses under the domestic legislation of Serbia, including concealing or assisting the perpetrator after the commission of a criminal offense” and the criminal offense of “obstructing or preventing evidence”.
“According to Serbia, if the case were to be forwarded, the War Crimes Prosecution will lead the proceedings before the High Court in Belgrade in the first instance, and the Court of Appeal in Belgrade in the second instance,” reads the decision of judge Daqun.
The prosecution, on the other hand, as stated in the decision, claims that Serbia has not sufficiently demonstrated that it has an adequate legal framework, and specifically expressed doubt as to whether Seselj could be tried as an accomplice in his own crimes.
In its submission, the Prosecutor’s Office noted that it mostly managed to obtain Serbia’s cooperation during the investigation, “albeit with significant delays.” However, given Serbia’s lack of compliance with the Mechanism’s earlier orders, the Prosecutor’s Office said that this country should demonstrate that it can bring this case to trial and complete it on time, so that the case could be transferred.
“The defendants believe that the case should be forwarded to Serbia, that they will appear before the competent domestic authorities when they are summoned, and that conducting the proceedings in Serbia is in the interest of expediency, fairness and efficiency,” stated Daqun.
After considering all the facts, Judge Daqun decided that it is in the interest of justice and expediency to forward the case to Serbia.
Detektor previously wrote that Seselj had already been convicted of contempt of court. One case for contempt of court – against Seselj’s party colleagues Vjerica Radeta and Petar Jojić – is still ongoing. In October 2012, they were accused of influencing the witnesses at the Seselj trial by persuading them to change their statements or not to testify with threats, blackmail and bribes.
Along with Radeta and Jojić, Jovo Ostojić was accused, but the proceedings against him were suspended due to his death.
The President of the Mechanism and the chief prosecutor have been drawing attention to Serbia’s non-cooperation due to its refusal to arrest and extradite the accused to The Hague in reports to the United Nations Security Council.
In April 2018, Šešelj was convicted of inciting and perpetrating the persecution of Croats in 1992 in the village of Hrtkovci in Vojvodina, and was sentenced to ten years in prison.
