Byzantine Blog

Rogue Court With Rigged Rules

As early as June 17, 1999 The Times of London has issued a verdict to the Hague Tribunal, calling it “a rogue court with rigged rules.” Since then, the “tribunal” hasn’t only been unable to disprove the allegation, but seems to have been working on proving it true from case to case, sometimes on a daily basis.

Notorious for its murky beginnings, dubious legality at best, selective prosecution and double standards, the so-called International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Hague, Netherlands, after highly suspicious deaths of three Serbian indictees, including the former President of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, has recently added another controversy to its already swarming pool of blatant hypocrisy and thuggish proceedings.

Indicted for a Verbal Delict

Dr. Vojislav Seselj, the president of the Serbian Radical Party, has been indicted by the Hague “tribunal” for what boils down to a verbal delict almost four years ago, and has been imprisoned in the Hague ever since, awaiting for his trial to begin.

The staunchest and most powerful political enemy of the Serbian ruling elite imposed by the western power centers after the 1999 bombardment of Serbia, and relentless in unmasking the behind-the-closed-doors deals and sell-outs, Dr. Seselj was considered the main obstacle to the new government’s Brainwashing by Design mission and had to be removed from Serbian political scene.

The mock indictment against him was hastily slapped together in Belgrade, by Soros NGO’s and their semi-literate lawyers. It is such a wobbly and sloppy piece of work that even the Hague “prosecution” complained they barely managed to make something resembling the proper indictment out of it. The “case” against Vojislav Seselj is entirely based on the claim he incited war crimes by his public statements -- something that is in most parts of the world generally known as the freedom of speech.

Upon receiving the indictment Seselj made a decision to go to The Hague of his own free will and, by defending himself, expose the “tribunal” as an illegal institution established in order to prosecute and charge entire Serbian nation through its numerous military and political leaders. Being an excellent lawyer who was the youngest PhD holder in Yugoslavia and has taught Law first at Michigan and then at Sarajevo universities, Vojislav Seselj chose to represent himself before the Kangaroo Court.

Apart from his academic and legal expertise, Vojislav Seselj is also a brilliant man with the encyclopedic knowledge and complete familiarity with even the most minute details of the 1990s Yugoslav civil wars. Combined with the most astounding memory and power of concentration on the one hand and the bogus indictment on the other, it is virtually impossible for the prosecutor to have a leveled-plane dialogue with Seselj, let alone to gain the upper hand in such exchange.

Being also known for his unrepentant directness and raw sense of humor which he doesn’t hesitate to use against the opponent, exposing the lies, cowardice and dishonesty hidden behind the thin veneer of politically correct claptrap, Vojislav Seselj is an unpleasant adversary indeed.

Testimony in Milosevic’s Defense

Because of that and because the “case” against Seselj is entirely ridiculous, in the last four years since Mr. Seselj has been awaiting the start of his trial in the “temporary imprisonment” in the Hague, the “judges,” the “prosecution” and the public had an opportunity to hear him speak only once -- as a witness to the late President Milosevic.

Dr. Seselj took the stand on August 19, 2005, right after the Kosovo Albanian witnesses who were also testifying in President Milosevic’s defense.

The unpleasant confrontation for the “court” started with the fact that Vojislav Seselj does not hide his contempt for the “tribunal.” Seselj considers it a criminal enterprise based neither on law, nor on principles of justice, but on a single imperative: to brand the Serbian nation as criminal and genocidal and have it enter the history as such. So, for example, he refused to follow the Kangaroo Court’s ceremonial procedures of standing up and bowing (!!!) when the “judges” are entering or leaving the courtroom, explaining he is an Orthodox Christian and therefore cannot honor the symbols and rituals reminiscent of the Inquisition. He reluctantly decided to oblige, despite his faith and personal convictions, only after the “judge” threatened him with being barred from testifying.

Joined the Enterprise With Himself

During a thirteen day testimony, Seselj has demonstrated the scope of his knowledge and managed to scare the “judges” and the “prosecution” to the point where they simply decided they would rather never let him speak again. Commenting on Dr. Seselj’s testimony, Sinisa Djuric wrote:

[...] Finally, Milosevic asked Seselj if he could explain a certain discrepancy between his and Seselj’s indictment, namely that in Milosevic’s indictment it is mentioned that the Joint Criminal Enterprise had existed since August 2, 1991, while in Seselj’s indictment it is mentioned that it existed since February 1991. Seselj replied that it is all perfectly clear to him - in February 1991 he alone was a member of the Joint Criminal Enterprise - that is, he joined in an enterprise with himself - and six months later he was joined in the enterprise by Milosevic and the rest of the people from the list. Milosevic then added that he’s glad that Seselj could provide some assistance to the prosecutor, which was followed by a burst of laughter by both him and his witness.

It is not hard to see where all this leads - Milosevic is not accused of committing a single crime personally, but on the principle of command responsibility which is based on the Greater Serbia thesis - that is the Joint Criminal Enterprise - he would be responsible for any crime committed by Serbs in Croatia or Bosnia (while Kosovo is a different story). However, if the basic thesis of the prosecution falls apart, so do a great deal of the charges against Milosevic. And not only him, but also several other individuals charged with participating in the Joint Criminal Enterprise - particularly Vojislav Seselj. Seselj’s indictment is the most bogus one of all at The Hague tribunal, since he’s not even charged on command responsibility, but on the principle of a verbal delict: that his words may have incited someone to commit a crime. This principle was abolished 300 years ago in Anglo-Saxon legal practice, but the Hague Tribunal seems pretty keen on establishing all sorts of precedents.

Vojislav Seselj, who went to the Hague willingly as a Trojan Horse, knowing about the absurdity of the so-called Joint Criminal Enterprise, may well turn the “trial of the century” into the blunder of the century. In his own trial, which has not even begun though he’s been kept in prison for more than two years, he was warned by presiding judge Carmel Agius that with his admission that he advocates Greater Serbia he’s only incriminating himself. It’s clear that the judges of the tribunal still don’t get it - Seselj is charged for participating in a Joint Criminal Enterprise to create a Greater Serbia, but if there was no Joint Criminal Enterprise as described in his indictment, then it doesn’t really matter what he advocates. All charges would then have to be dropped and he may well advocate the conquest of the world. Nobody could put him behind bars for it - it’s a thing usually called freedom of speech, which allows any nutter to say whatever he wants, without being prosecuted.

Hague Violating International Law and Fundamental Human Rights

Although the UN Human Rights Watch decided in the case of an Algerian man that 16 months of detention before the start of the trial represents the inhumane treatment, and the EU considers the limit should be set to no more then two years imprisonment before the trial begins, in the case of Vojislav Seselj almost four years imprisonment seem to be considered entirely reasonable for an innocent man to be parted from his wife and children, friends and the life he once had.

Not only that, but on August 21, 2006 the Hague “Trial Chamber” decided to impose a “Counsel” to Vojislav Seselj, breaching his inviolable legal right to self-representation. According to this decision, completely unimaginable in the civilized world, the enforced “Counsel” would have the exclusive right to file submissions on behalf of Mr. Seselj. Vojislav Seselj is also deprived of any right to address the court -- he is now barred from defending himself and even speaking at his own trial.

When the same decision was made during the mockery of a trial of the late President Milosevic, former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark called it a travesty, citing a right to self-representation as the “fundamental human right.” Ramsey Clark explained that “under International Law, every person accused of a crime has the right to represent himself in person in the court adjudicating his case.”

Although the same fundamental human right undoubtedly applies to Dr. Seselj also, the Kangaroo Court, already exposed as rotten to the core, is so scared of Vojislav Seselj they seem to be willing to give up the last shred of pretense just to avoid confronting him again.