Vojislav Šešelj

The Mechanism partially overturned the acquittal and convicted Šešelj of instigating deportation, persecution through forced displacement, other inhumane acts through forcible transfer, and persecution connected with his Hrtkovci speech. A ten-year sentence was imposed and deemed served in view of his previous detention.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

The majority of the ICTY Trial Chamber acquitted Šešelj of all counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Šešelj voluntarily surrendered to the ICTY in 2003 and remained in detention for more than eleven years during lengthy and procedurally complex proceedings.

State of the evidence

Documented

After more than eleven years in detention, Šešelj was provisionally released on humanitarian grounds linked to his health and returned to Serbia.

State of the evidence

Documented

As president of the Serbian Radical Party, Šešelj was prosecuted by the ICTY over a campaign of speeches, recruitment and support for Serbian forces accused of crimes against non-Serb populations in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vojvodina.

In a speech at Hrtkovci in Vojvodina, Šešelj called for the expulsion of the Croatian population. In 2018, the Appeals Chamber used the speech as the basis for convictions for instigating deportation, persecution and forcible transfer.

State of the evidence

Established by a court