The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Wednesday rejected a motion for acquittal submitted by Serb nationalist leader Vojislav Seselj, who is conducting his own defense against war crimes charges related to conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia in the 1990s.

Seselj had argued that there was no proof to link him to specific crimes or convict him, and had also applied for "damages and interest" for the eight years he has spent behind bars - saying this detention was unjustified.

"The chamber rejects the accused's request," French judge Jean-Claude Antonetti said in the UN courtroom in the Hague. "The trial chamber feels that there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable trial to continue at this stage and that there is a substantial nexus between the acts of instigation by the accused and the crimes committed."

However, Judge Antonetti's 120-page verdict also recommended clearing some of the charges filed against Seselj, and one of the three members of the trial chamber had recommended acquitting him.

"The court was pretty careful to point out that this was not a verdict today," DW's correspondent in Belgrade, Mark Lowen said. "This was not the judges declaring Mr. Seselj guilty of the nine counts with which he is charged, it was simply a decision that there was sufficient evidence to continue with the trial. Seselj had said the prosecution had failed to prove his possible guilt on any count."

The court did not set a date for the resumption of the war crimes trial.

Instigating others' crimes

Seselj, 56, is charged with 15 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role as leader of the far-right Serb Radical Party. Seselj is accused of instigating crimes committed by his party's militia, including torture, murder, and the forced deportation of non-Serbs. As party leader, Seselj propagated an ethnically-clean area within the former Yugoslavia, recruiting volunteers to fight for that aim in Croatia and Bosnia.

Seselj surrendered to authorities in 2003 and has been held in custody ever since. His trial first began in 2007, but progress has been slow and the proceedings are only at the half-way stage. In July 2009, Seselj was convicted of contempt of court for revealing the identity of protected witnesses in a book he authored. This potential security breach forced the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to suspend the trial for almost a year.

Seselj remains the leader of the Serbian Radical Party in absentia, and he still commands a loyal poltical following at home.

"A guilty verdict would split Serbia very much in two," correspondent Mark Lowen reports. "There is still a support network here for Seselj, but I think that many of the new generation in Serbia - wanting to the leave the past behind - would be very pleased if he is locked up by the Hague tribunal and sent off to prison for some years."

Lowen also said it's possible that a guilty verdict would not be followed by a jail sentence; having served eight years in custody already, Seselj might be deemed to have already paid his dues.

When in custody in the Hague, Seselj was a frequent chess partner of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Until Milosevic's death in 2006, the two frequently consulted each other on how to conduct their defenses. Seselj famously went on a 28-day hunger strike in 2006 to protest an ICTY attempt to stop him choosing his own defense counsel.

Author: Mark Hallam (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Rob Turner