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Hague prosecutors seek medical report on Seselj
17 Nov 2006 14:59:52 GMT
Source: Reuters
AMSTERDAM, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Prosecutors at the Hague war crimes tribunal have asked for a medical report on Serbian ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj, who his party says is on hunger strike to demand the right to choose his legal counsel.

Seselj, who faces charges of persecution, extermination, murder and torture of non-Serbs in wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, wants to represent himself in court and refuses to cooperate with legal advisers assigned to him by the court.

The prosecution said in a statement on Friday that it had requested the head of the U.N detention unit, where Seselj is being detained, to determine whether the Serbian Radical Party leader is on a hunger strike and if so to check his condition.

If the report concludes he is not able to prepare his defence and represent himself, the prosecution wants the court to permanently assign a defence counsel.

Seselj surrendered to the U.N. tribunal in 2003. His trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 27.

He was banned from representing himself in August after disrupting pre-trial hearings but the tribunal's appeals chamber restored his right to defend himself last month.

Two lawyers were assigned as standby counsel ready to take over his defence if Seselj disrupted the trial again.

The 52-year-old, who taught political science at Sarajevo University from 1981 to 1984, has repeatedly been removed from the court because of his behaviour.

Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslavian president who died in jail before his marathon war crimes trial ended, also berated the judges and questioned the legitimacy of the court, but was allowed to defend himself until he died in March.

Seselj's opposition Radicals regularly score highest in polls of Serbian voting intentions, with the backing of about one-third of Serbia's 6 million voters.


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Last updated:Fri Nov 17 15:01:45 2006