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Serb nationalist boycotts trial Serb suspect punished for no-show
(about 2 hours later)
The ultra-nationalist Serbian politician Vojislav Seselj has refused to attend the start of his war crimes trial at the UN tribunal in The Hague. Serbian nationalist leader Vojislav Seselj has lost the right to conduct his own defence after boycotting the start of his war crimes trial.
The leader of the Serbian Radical Party, the biggest party in Serbia's parliament, was expected to defend himself against the charges. The leader of the Serbian Radical Party, the biggest party in Serbia's parliament, refused to attend the start of the trial in The Hague.
He has been on hunger strike for two weeks and is said to be getting weaker.He has been on hunger strike for two weeks and is said to be getting weaker.
Mr Seselj is charged with forming a joint criminal enterprise with former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Mr Seselj is accused of plotting the ethnic cleansing of former Yugoslavia during the wars of the early 1990s.
He also faces similar charges in connection with the fugitive former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic between 1991 and 1993. He is also accused of forming a joint criminal enterprise with former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, which led to the extermination and deportation of non-Serbs from Bosnia and Croatia.
His case is likely to echo that of Milosevic, who died in custody in the tribunal's detention unit in March, says the BBC's Geraldine Coughlan in The Hague.
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It had been half-expected that Mr Seselj would not attend the first day of his trial, after he began a hunger strike in his cell two weeks ago, and refused to attend a pre-trial hearing last week.It had been half-expected that Mr Seselj would not attend the first day of his trial, after he began a hunger strike in his cell two weeks ago, and refused to attend a pre-trial hearing last week.
He is demanding the right to choose his own stand-by defence lawyer - and unrestricted visits from his wife. He has been demanding the right to choose his own stand-by defence lawyer, and unrestricted visits from his wife.
Vojislav Seselj is charged with the extermination and deportation of non-Serbs from Bosnia and Croatia, along with his old ally, former President Milosevic. He was warned by the court that failing to appear for the trial could mean he would surrender the right to self-defence.
Like Milosevic, Mr Seselj refuses to recognise the court and insists on acting as his own lawyer. "He persists in not taking food... he persists in being absent," presiding Judge Alphons Orie said at the opening of proceedings on Monday.
His trial has also been delayed because of what the court describes as his disruptive behaviour during proceedings. "The court finds that the accused's self-representation has essentially obstructed the proper and expeditious proceedings," he said, appointing a British lawyer to take over Mr Seselj's defence.
This poses a real problem for the judges, who have to balance Vojislav Seselj's right to a fair trial with the interests of justice, says our correspondent. Proceedings have often been delayed because of what the court describes as his disruptive behaviour.
This has presented a real problem for the judges, who have to balance the defendant's right to a fair trial with the interests of justice, the BBC's Geraldine Coughlan in The Hague says.