(Hina) - A decision by the appeals chamber of the Hague war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to return war crimes accused Vojislav Šešelj back to detention is in accordance with what Croatia has requested, due to Šešelj’s behaviour after being provisionally released, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić told Hina on Monday.
The ICTY appeals chamber on Monday ordered that Vojislav Šešelj be returned to detention.
Commenting on the decision, Pusić said that that "is in accordance with legal procedure and international legal standards considering that after he was provisionally released, Vojislav Šešelj acted politically in a very aggressive way."
He has been detrimental to everyone and in particular to relations in the region. Considering these facts, this is an excellent decision and that is what we have asked for from the very beginning, being aware of who is in question," Pusić said.
On November 6, the trial chamber provisionally released Šešelj on medical grounds, setting no restrictions other than that he must not tamper with witnesses and victims and that he must return to The Hague when summoned by the trial chamber.
As soon as he was released and arrived in Serbia, Šešelj made political statements and said that he did not intend to go back voluntarily.
On December 1, the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor requested that he be brought back to the detention unit, saying his statement about not voluntarily returning showed that he did not intend to comply with the release terms and that his threats against persons who had cooperated with the Office of the Prosecutor constituted obstruction of justice.
On January 13, the trial chamber dismissed the motion, prompting the Office of the Prosecutor to appeal which was upheld by the appeals chamber.