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Seselj says recovering quickly from hunger strike

11 Jan 2007 18:31:34 GMT
Source: Reuters

AMSTERDAM, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Serb war crimes suspect Vojislav Seselj said on Thursday he is recovering from a hunger strike but did not say when he will be able to resume his defence at the U.N. war crimes tribunal.

The Serb ultranationalist leader is charged with murder and persecution of non-Serbs during wars with Croats and Bosnian Muslims in the 1990s.

Seselj launched a hunger strike in November after the U.N. court decided to assign him a defence lawyer against his wishes. He ended it 28 days later after the court's Appeals Chamber restored his right to represent himself.

"I am making a speedy recovery from the consequences of the hunger strike, but am still unable to give you a precise date when I will have recovered sufficiently to take part in the proceedings as a self-representing accused," Seselj said in a statement submitted to the tribunal.

Seselj, 52, surrendered to The Hague tribunal in 2003 and pleaded not guilty to war crimes. He has routinely disrupted pre-trial proceedings, insulting judges, and refused to cooperate with advisers assigned to him by the court.

After he ended his hunger strike doctors estimated a recovery of three to four months, Seselj said but added that he expected a more reliable assessment after his next examination due in late January or early February.

"It should also be borne in mind that I will require some time for intensive preparations with my legal advisers," he said.

A tribunal spokesman said the trial will stay suspended until Seselj is fit enough to participate.

Seselj was close to the late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic. Before Milosevic's death in detention at the Hague in March 2006, the two men were frequent chess partners, and consulted each other on how to conduct their defence.

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Last updated:Thu Jan 11 18:32:21 2007