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Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician, founder and president of the
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
Serbian Radical Party The Serbian Radical Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска радикална странка, Srpska radikalna stranka, ''SRS'') is an ultranationalist political party in Serbia. It was founded in 1991, and its founder and current leader is Vojislav Še ...
(SRS); he was convicted of war crimes by the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...
(ICTY). Between 1998 and 2000, he served as the
deputy prime minister of Serbia The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia ( sr, Потпредседник Владе Србије / Potpredsednik Vlade Srbije, literally translated as Vice President of the Government of Serbia), is the official Deputy of the Prime Minister of Ser ...
. He voluntarily surrendered to the ICTY in February 2003 but his trial did not begin until November 2007. Šešelj's trial was marred with controversy: he went on
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
for nearly a month until finally being allowed to represent himself, regularly insulted the judges and court prosecutors once proceedings commenced, disclosed the identities of protected witnesses and was penalized on three occasions for disrespecting the court. He did not call any witnesses in his defense. After spending 11 years and 9 months in detention in the United Nations Detention Unit of
Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...
during his trial, Šešelj was permitted to temporarily return to Serbia in November 2014 to undergo cancer treatment. He led the SRS in the 2016 elections, and his party won 23 seats in the parliament. On 31 March 2016, he was acquitted in a first-instance verdict on all counts by the ICTY. The acquittal was appealed by prosecutors from the MICT, a United Nations Security Council agency which functions as oversight program of, and successor entity to, the ICTY. On 11 April 2018, the Appeals Chamber partially reversed the first-instance verdict, finding Šešelj guilty of crimes against humanity for his role in instigating the deportation of Croats from Hrtkovci. He was found not guilty on the remaining counts of his indictment, including all the war crimes and crimes against humanity that he was alleged to have committed in Croatia and Bosnia. Šešelj was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but because of time already spent in ICTY custody, he was not obligated to return to prison.


Early life

Vojislav Šešelj was born in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
,
PR Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...
,
FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...
, to Nikola Šešelj (1925–1978) and Danica Šešelj (née Misita; 1924–2007),
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
from the
Popovo Valley Popovo field ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Popovo polje, Попово поље, , ) is a ''polje'' (karstic field) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in a southernmost region of the country, near the Adriatic coast. Its size is . Popovo polj ...
region of eastern
Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...
. His parents wed in 1953 before moving to Sarajevo, where they lived on modest means in adapted housing at the old Sarajevo train station as his father was employed in the state-run ŽTP railway company. His mother stayed at home and took care of her two children, Vojislav and his younger sister, Dragica. A relative on his mother's side was
Chetnik The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
commander Lt. Col.
Veselin Misita Veselin Misita (Serbian Cyrillic: Веселин Мисита; 19 March 1904 – 31 August 1941) was a Bosnian Serb military commander holding the rank of lieutenant colonel during World War II. Misita is best known for leading the victorious ...
.


Education

Šešelj began his elementary education in September 1961 at the Vladimir Nazor Primary School before transferring to the newly built Bratstvo i Jedinstvo primary school. A successful student until the fourth grade, he increasingly grew uninterested with the curriculum, realizing the minimal effort he needed in order to achieve adequate grades. History was his favourite subject and he generally preferred
social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...
s to natural ones. For his secondary education, Šešelj enrolled at First Sarajevo Gymnasium, receiving good grades. He was involved with student organizations in school as the president of the gymnasium's student union and later as the president of its youth committee. Šešelj continued going to youth work actions for summer holidays while at the gymnasium. In 1972 and 1973, he worked as a laborer around the
Morava River Morava may refer to: Rivers * Great Morava (''Velika Morava''; or only Morava), a river in central Serbia, and its tributaries: ** South Morava (''Južna Morava'') *** Binač Morava (''Binačka Morava'') ** West Morava (''Zapadna Morava'') * Mo ...
, building embankments.


Undergraduate

After his second level schooling, Šešelj enrolled at the
University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a public university located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the larges ...
's
Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...
in fall 1973. He additionally took part in student bodies becoming a vice-dean counterpart in the student organization for fifteen months. Controversy followed him again as he openly criticized Fuad Muhić, a candidate for
dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...
, publicly proclaiming Muhić unfit to perform the duties of that position. Muhić still got elected to the post. After being a tutor for freshmen, Šešelj became a course demonstrator, holding two sets of tutorials per week, helping professors with student
oral exam The oral exam (also oral test or '; ' in German-speaking nations) is a practice in many schools and disciplines in which an examiner poses questions to the student in spoken form. The student has to answer the question in such a way as to demons ...
s as well as with conference papers. In 1975, as part of a university delegation, the 21-year-old Šešelj visited the
University of Mannheim The University of Mannheim (German: ''Universität Mannheim''), abbreviated UMA, is a public research university in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1967, the university has its origins in the ''Palatine Academy of Sciences'', ...
in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
for two weeks, which was his first trip abroad. He completed his four-year undergraduate studies in two years and eight months.


Postgraduate

Immediately after graduating in 1976, Šešelj wanted a job as assistant lecturer at the University of Sarajevo's Faculty of Law, however, no assistant positions were posted at the faculty for the following school year leaving him with nothing to apply for. Šešelj saw the unusual situation as Muhić's personal revenge for Šešelj's public criticism. Realizing his minimal chances of getting hired at the Faculty of Law in Sarajevo, Šešelj turned his attention to other faculties. While preparing his application for the Faculty of Law in
Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...
(at the time organizationally transforming from a remote unit of Sarajevo's law faculty into a separate independent educational entity) where they needed assistants for courses on
constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...
, he learned of an assistant job posting at Sarajevo University's Faculty of Political Science for a course called "Political Parties and Organizations" and decided instead to apply there. He had friends, such as
Zdravko Grebo Zdravko Grebo (30 July 1947 – 29 January 2019) was a Bosnian law professor at the University of Sarajevo's Law School. He was born in 1947 in Mostar. Zdravko is the founder of Open Society Foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Soros Foundation ...
, Rodoljub Marjanović, and Milan Tomić, already working at the faculty as assistants, while Grebo's mother was the faculty's dean. After learning that the 'Political Parties and Organizations' course was taught by professor
Atif Purivatra Atif (also spelled Atef or Atiph, ar, عاطف) is an Arabic masculine given name generally used in the Muslim world, it means "the kind one". Given name Atef * Atef Abu Saif (born 1973), Palestinian writer * Atef Adwan (born 1950), Palestinian ...
, a friend and political companion of Muhić, Šešelj withdrew his application, fearing a rejection that would reflect badly on future vocational efforts. Through Grebo's mother, Šešelj learned the faculty was about to establish the Department for People's Defense where many assistants would be needed. In parallel, Šešelj began
postgraduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...
, enrolling in November 1976 at the
University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-b ...
's
Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...
. Due to employment obligations in Sarajevo, he didn't move to Belgrade, but instead went there two to three times a month to attend lectures and obtain literature. He earned a master's degree in June 1978 with a masters thesis titled ''The Marxist Concept of an Armed People''. In 1978, he spent two and a half months at the Grand Valley State Colleges in the US in its exchange program with the University of Sarajevo. Also in 1978, after returning from the U.S., Šešelj began pursuing a doctorate at the Belgrade University's Faculty of Law. After submitting his dissertation in early fall 1979, he chose
specialization Specialization or Specialized may refer to: Academia * Academic specialization, may be a course of study or major at an academic institution or may refer to the field in which a specialist practices * Specialty (medicine), a branch of medical ...
at the
University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...
in
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. He earned his doctorate on 26 November 1979 after successfully defending his dissertation (doctoral thesis) titled ''The Political Essence of Militarism and Fascism'', which made him the youngest PhD holder in Yugoslavia at 25 years of age. In December 1979 Šešelj joined the
Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
to serve his mandatory military service and was stationed in Belgrade. He completed his army service in November 1980, but in the meantime he had lost his position at the University of Sarajevo's Faculty of Political Sciences.


Academic career


University of Sarajevo

In the early 1980s, Šešelj began to associate more with individuals from dissident intellectual circles in Belgrade, some of whom had
Serbian nationalist Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, und ...
political leanings. He repeatedly held
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
professors at the Faculty of Political Sciences responsible for his situation, openly criticizing his former friend Dr Atif Purivatra, as well as Hasan Sušić, and Omer Ibrahimagić, for having harmed his career and denouncing them as Pan-Islamists. In September 1981 Šešelj rejoined the Faculty of Political Sciences where he was asked to teach courses on international relations. The Faculty of Political Sciences, as a breeding ground for future politicians, was closely controlled and overseen by the Communist Party, and outspoken Šešelj quickly drew the attention of party officials. He openly supported another prominent young intellectual, Nenad Kecmanović, who was himself embroiled in a controversy that drew criticism from some sections of the communist
nomenklatura The ''nomenklatura'' ( rus, номенклату́ра, p=nəmʲɪnklɐˈturə, a=ru-номенклатура.ogg; from la, nomenclatura) were a category of people within the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key admi ...
in Bosnia due to his writings in '' NIN'' magazine. Still, the biggest controversy was raised when Šešelj came up against faculty colleague
Brano Miljuš Branko "Brano" Miljuš is a Serbian politician and academic from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Former high-ranking official of the Yugoslav Communist League' (SKJ) Bosnia-Herzegovina branch, he was most recently a member of Alliance of Independent Socia ...
. A protege of
Hamdija Pozderac Hamdija Pozderac (15 January 1924 – 7 April 1988) was a Yugoslav communist politician from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was the 4th President of the People's Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from July 1971 to May 1974. ...
and
Branko Mikulić Branko Mikulić (10 June 1928 – 12 April 1994) was a Yugoslavian statesman. Mikulić was one of the leading communist politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the communist rule in the former Yugoslavia. Biography Branko Mikulić was born t ...
( SR Bosnia-Herzegovina's highest and most powerful political figures at the time), Miljuš was well positioned within the communist apparatus as the secretary of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Communist League's Sarajevo branch. Šešelj dissected Miljuš's master's degree thesis and accused him of plagiarizing more than 40 pages in it from the published works by
Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 p ...
and
Edvard Kardelj Edvard Kardelj (; 27 January 1910 – 10 February 1979), also known by the pseudonyms Bevc, Sperans and Krištof, was a Yugoslav politician and economist. He was one of the leading members of the Communist Party of Slovenia before World War II. ...
. Šešelj criticised the highest political echelons, particularly Pozderac who was the reviewer of Miljuš's master's degree thesis. A power struggle spilled outside the faculty and into the political institutions and corridors of power. Other faculty members and intellectuals to offer their support to Šešelj included Boro Gojković, Džemal Sokolović, Hidajet Repovac, Momir Zeković and Ina Ovadija-Musafija. The Pozderac side was stronger; Šešelj was expelled from the Communist League on 4 December 1981. By spring 1982, barely six months after being re-hired, his position at the Faculty of Political Sciences was in jeopardy. He ended up being demoted to the Institute for Social Research (Institut za društvena istraživanja), an institution affiliated with the Faculty. Belgrade intellectuals, mostly writers and researchers in the social sciences, came to his defense by writing letters of protest to the government of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to the Faculty of Political Science in Sarajevo. He became critical of the way in which the national question was dealt with in Yugoslavia: he spoke out in favour of the use of force against Kosovo Albanians and denounced the passivity of the Serbian political leadership in handling the Kosovo crisis. In his view the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina were not a nation but a religious group. He expressed his concern of seeing Bosnia and Herzegovina turn into a republic dominated by Muslims. He began to be spied on by
UDBA The State Security Service ( hr, Služba državne sigurnosti, sr, Служба државне безбедности; mk, Служба за државна безбедност; sl, Služba državne varnosti), also known by its original name ...
agents. Šešelj's first arrest took place on 8 February 1984, the second day of the Sarajevo Olympics. He was on a train from Sarajevo heading to Belgrade when the secret police burst on board around Podlugovi station and seized some of his writings that he had in the suitcase. Among the agents handling his arrest that day was Dragan Kijac (later
Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
state security chief). In
Doboj Doboj ( sr-cyrl, Добој, ) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Bosna river, in the northern region of the Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 ...
, Šešelj was taken off the train, transferred into a police Mercedes, and transported to Belgrade where he was questioned for 27 hours before being released and informed that he would be contacted again. After getting back to Sarajevo, UDBA took him in twice more for questionings, which were handled by Rašid Musić and Milan Krnjajić. According to Šešelj, they had the transcripts of the various conversations he had with some of his closest friends in which he and his friends openly criticized subjects ranging from specific political figures and the communist regime in general, and were trying to get him to implicate them as a basis for "a group trial for ethnic balance purposes, ..a Serbian group to persecute since they just convicted Izetbegović's Muslim one." On 20 April 1984, he was arrested at a private apartment in Belgrade among the group of 28 individuals during the lecture given by
Milovan Đilas Milovan Djilas (; , ; 12 June 1911 – 30 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well as in the post-war government. A self-identified democrat ...
as part of Free University, a semi-clandestine organization that gathered intellectuals critical of the communist regime. Šešelj spent four days in prison before being released.


Prison

However, Šešelj was a free man for barely three weeks. In mid-May 1984, Stane Dolanc, the Slovene representative in
Yugoslav Presidency bs, Predsjedništvo SFRJ Slovene: ''Predsedstvo SFRJ'' mk, Председателство на СФРЈ , flag = Standard of a Member of the Presidency of SFR Yugoslavia.svg , flagsize = 125px , flagborder = , flagcaption = Standard of a Me ...
and longtime state security chief, gave an interview to
TV Belgrade Radio Television of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Радио-телевизија Србије, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Srbije, italics=yes; abbr. RTS/PTC) is Serbia's public broadcaster. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming thro ...
regarding Šešelj's unpublished manuscript, ''Odgovori na anketu-intervju: Šta da se radi?'' in which Šešelj calls for "reorganization of the Yugoslav federalism, SFR Yugoslavia with only four constituent republics (Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia), abolishing of the single-party system, and the abolishing of artificial nationalities". Two days later, on 15 May 1984, Šešelj was arrested again in Sarajevo. Several days after being jailed at Sarajevo's Central Prison, he began a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
, which attracted the attention of the foreign press. In jail, he passed the time by reading without devoting much effort to preparing his defense at the impending trial. A few weeks later, his then wife Vesna Mudreša gave birth to their first child – a boy named Nikola, after Šešelj's father – however, Šešelj refused to end the hunger strike even after being told this. Weak, frail, and with rapidly deteriorating overall health, he eventually relented on the last day of the trial, ending the strike after 48 days. Several days later, on 9 July 1984, he was given an eight-year sentence. The verdict delivered by presiding judge Milorad Potparić concluded that Šešelj "acted from the anarcho-liberal and nationalist platform thereby committing the criminal act of counterrevolutionary endangerment of the social order". The single most incriminating piece of evidence cited by the court was the unpublished manuscript that the secret police found in Šešelj's home. On appeal, the Supreme Court of SFR Yugoslavia reduced the sentence to six years, then to four, and finally two. Šešelj served the first eight months of his sentence in Sarajevo before getting transferred to prison in
Zenica Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. Th ...
in January 1985, where he was placed in quarantine and isolated from other inmates for three weeks while medical checks and general psychological observation were conducted in order to come up with a rehabilitation plan and program during his prison stay. From the start he informed the prison officials of his refusal to do any labour, reasoning that "since jailed communists didn't have to do prison labour in the pre-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
capitalist
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, I too, as someone espousing anti-communist ideology, refuse to do labour in a communist prison". His conduct earned him multiple stays in
solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...
that initially lasted two weeks but were later extended to a whole month. During his first solitary confinement stay he went on another hunger strike. A week into his strike, he was beaten by the guards in an effort to force him to stop, but he did not, lasting 16 days without food. In total, out of his fourteen months in Zenica, six and a half were spent in solitary confinement. He was released in March 1986 – two months early due to continuous pressure, protests and petitions by intellectuals throughout Yugoslavia and abroad, many of whom would later become his political opponents. Upon release from prison, Šešelj permanently moved to Belgrade. According to
John Mueller John E. Mueller (born June 21, 1937) is an American political scientist in the field of international relations as well as a scholar of the history of dance. He is recognized for his ideas concerning "the banality of ethnic war" and the theory t ...
, Šešelj "later seems to have become mentally unbalanced as the result of the torture and beatings he endured while in prison".


Political career

In 1989, Šešelj returned to the United States where
Momčilo Đujić Momčilo Đujić ( sh-Cyrl, Момчилo Ђујић, ; 27 February 1907 – 11 September 1999) was a Serbian Orthodox priest and Chetnik . He led a significant proportion of the Chetniks within the northern Dalmatia and western Bosnia r ...
, a
Chetnik The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
leader from
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
living there in exile, bestowed on Šešelj the title '' Chetnik vojvoda'' ( Vojvoda of the
Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
), the first since World War II, to make a "unitary Serbian state where all Serbs would live, occupying all the Serb lands".
In 1998, Đujić said that he regretted awarding the title to Šešelj on account of his involvement with
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
. Together with
Vuk Drašković Vuk Drašković ( sr-cyrl, Вук Драшковић, ; born 29 November 1946) is a Serbian writer and politician. He is the leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, and served as the war-time Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugo ...
and Mirko Jović, Šešelj founded the
anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
Chetnik party Serbian National Renewal (SNO) in late 1989. In the late 1980s, Šešelj made calls for 360,000 Albanians to be deported from Kosovo. In March 1990, together with Drašković, he however went on to form the
monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
party
Serbian Renewal Movement The Serbian Renewal Movement ( sr-cyrl, Српски покрет обнове, Srpski pokret obnove, SPO) is a liberal and monarchist political party in Serbia. History The Serbian Renewal Movement party was founded in 1990 through the merge ...
(SPO). that he soon left again to form the more radical Serbian Chetnik Movement (SČP). Because of its name the party was denied registration, but was merged in March 1991 with the National Radical Party (NRS) creating the
Serbian Radical Party The Serbian Radical Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска радикална странка, Srpska radikalna stranka, ''SRS'') is an ultranationalist political party in Serbia. It was founded in 1991, and its founder and current leader is Vojislav Še ...
(SRS) under his presidency. He has described himself and his supporters as "not
fascists Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and th ...
, just chauvinists who hate
Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...
." In late 1991, during the
Battle of Vukovar The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Bar ...
, Šešelj went to
Borovo Selo Borovo ( sr-Cyrl, Борово, hu, Boró, german: Worow), also known as Borovo Selo ( sr-Cyrl, Борово Село; to distinguish it from Borovo Naselje suburb which up until 1980 was also a part of the Borovo cadastral municipality), is a vi ...
to meet with a
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
bishop and publicly described Croats as a genocidal and perverted people. The paramilitary group White Eagles active at the time in the Yugoslav Wars was reportedly associated with him, being referred to as ''Šešeljevci'' ("Šešelj's men"). In May and July 1992, Šešelj visited the Vojvodina village of
Hrtkovci Hrtkovci ( sr-Cyrl, Хртковци) is a village located in the municipality of Ruma, Serbia. As of 2011 census, it has a population of 3,036 inhabitants. Name In Serbo-Croatian, the village is known as ''Hrtkovci'' (Хртковци), and in ...
and initiated a campaign of persecution of local ethnic Croats. In the elections of December 1992, the SRS won 27 percent of the vote versus the 40 percent won by the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
of President
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
. Šešelj's relationship with Milošević was amicable during the first years of the Yugoslav Wars. Šešelj and his party were in effect Milošević's close allies who helped them orchestrate the mass layoffs of journalists in 1992, and Šešelj publicly proclaimed their backing of Milošević as late as August 1993. Šešelj publicly advocated creating a
Greater Serbia The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia ( sr, Велика Србија, Velika Srbija) describes the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology of the creation of a Serb state which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to S ...
through the ethnic cleansing of all
Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...
and
Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...
. In September 1993, however, Šešelj and Milošević came into conflict over Milošević's withdrawal of support for
Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
in the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
, and Milošević described Šešelj as "the personification of violence and primitivism". Šešelj was jailed in 1994 and 1995 for his opposition to Milošević. The
Serbian Radical Party The Serbian Radical Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска радикална странка, Srpska radikalna stranka, ''SRS'') is an ultranationalist political party in Serbia. It was founded in 1991, and its founder and current leader is Vojislav Še ...
subsequently became the main opposition party and criticized
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
for corruption, ties to organized crime, nepotism, and for poor economic conditions. In 1995, Šešelj wrote in the publication ''Velika Srbija'' (Greater Serbia) a memorandum that outlined the
Serbianisation Serbianisation or Serbianization, also known as Serbification, and Serbisation or Serbization ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", srbizacija, србизација or sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=none, separator=" / ", posrbljavanje, посрбљавање; ...
of Kosovo. Šešelj called for violence and expulsion against Albanians and their leadership with aims toward discrediting them within Western public opinion. In July 1997, Šešelj made a guest appearance on BKTV's ''Tête-à-tête'' talk duel programme with lawyer Nikola Barović as the other duelist. The duel quickly degenerated into an exchange of verbal antagonism and ad hominem attacks that culminated in Barović throwing water from a glass in Šešelj's face. Sometime later Barović was physically assaulted by Šešelj's security detail. Šešelj quipped that Barović slipped on a banana peel and tumbled down a flight of stairs. In 1998, as violence in the Serbian province of
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
increased, Šešelj joined Milošević's
national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...
, siding briefly with the pro-Milošević government. Šešelj was appointed deputy president of the Serbian government in 1998. In September 1998, he objected to foreign media and human rights organizations acting in Yugoslavia, saying:
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
condemned the statement. During the 1999
Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
and the
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...
, Šešelj and his political party were willing to support Milošević, but after three months of bombardment they were the only party to vote against the withdrawal of FR Yugoslav security forces from Kosovo.. Šešelj advocated the forcible removal of all
Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
from
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
.


ICTY/MICT


Indictment

In an interview for NIN held on 4 February 2003 Šešelj stated that he had inside information that he would be indicted by the Hague in the following weeks, and had already booked a flight to the Hague for 24 February. The initial indictment was filed on 14 February 2003. The crimes in the indictment include, among others, that Šešelj, both individually and as part of a "joint criminal enterprise", engaged in "the permanent forcible removal, through the commission of crimes in violation of Articles 3 and 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal, of a majority of the Croat, Muslim and other non Serb populations from approximately one-third of the territory of the Republic of Croatia ("Croatia"), and large parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and from parts of Vojvodina, in the Republic of Serbia ("Serbia"), in order to make these areas part of a new Serb-dominated state".ICTY
Vojislav Seselj indictment
15 January 2003.


Custody

On 23 February 2003, following a "farewell meeting" held on Republic Square, Šešelj surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on the indictment of "eight counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of violations of the laws or customs of war for his alleged participation in a
joint criminal enterprise Joint criminal enterprise (JCE) is a legal doctrine used during war crimes tribunals to allow the prosecution of members of a group for the actions of the group. This doctrine considers each member of an organized group individually responsibl ...
". He was transferred to the ICTY the following day.ICTY
Vojislav Seselj case information sheet
/ref> In 2005, Šešelj made headlines when he was asked to read a letter which he earlier sent to the ICTY that stated his contempt for the court. The letter was read in front of cameras by Šešelj and contained insults and expletives aimed at the top ICTY officials and judges. In his letter, Šešelj said the presiding judge has only "the right" (mocking the Hague's judges) to perform oral sex on him, and referred to
Carla Del Ponte Carla Del Ponte (born February 9, 1947) is a former Chief Prosecutor of two United Nations international criminal law tribunals. A former Swiss attorney general, she was appointed prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former ...
as "the prostitute". In custody, he wrote ''Kriminalac i ratni zločinac Havijer Solana'' (''Felon and War Criminal
Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-dem ...
''), a criticism of the
NATO Secretary General The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff ...
(and the current
High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held b ...
and the
Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of the
Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
and the
Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...
) who led the 1999 war in Kosovo. On 2 December 2006, around 40,000 people marched in the Serbian capital of
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
in support of Šešelj during his 28-day
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
in The Hague after the ICTY denied him the right to choose his own defence counsel. Speaking at the rally, Radical Party secretary
Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Вучић, ; born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as the president of Serbia since 2017, and as the president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) since 2012. Vučić served ...
said ''"He's not fighting just for his life. But he's fighting for all of us who are gathered here. Vojislav Šešelj is fighting for Serbia!"'' Šešelj ended the hunger strike on 8 December after being allowed to present his own defence. While in custody in The Hague, Šešelj led his party's list of contenders for the January 2007 general election. Under the ICTY indictment, Šešelj was charged with 15 counts of
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
and violations of the laws or customs of war. The first of these charges is for persecution of Croats, Muslims and other non-Serbs in
Vukovar Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...
, Šamac,
Zvornik Zvornik ( sr-cyrl, Зворник, ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in Republika Srpska, on the left bank of the Drina river. In 2013, it had a population of 58,856 inhabitants. The town of Mali Zvornik ("Little Zvornik") lies ...
and
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
. The other charges include murder, forced deportation, illegal imprisonment, torture and property destruction during the
Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
. Šešelj's aide, Ljubiša Petković, was found guilty by the ICTY's Trial Chamber III of contempt for refusing to appear as a Chamber's witness in Šešelj's trial. Petković was released on 26 September from the ICTY Detention Unit. He had been sentenced to four months' imprisonment, credit being given for the three months and 14 days already spent in the Detention Unit. On 11 February 2009, after 71 witnesses had been heard and with the expected conclusion of the prosecution's case seven hours away, the presiding judges suspended Šešelj's trial indefinitely at the request of prosecutors, who alleged that witnesses were being intimidated. Šešelj claimed the true motive of the prosecutors was that they were losing their case. He claimed the court had presented numerous false witnesses to avoid having to acquit him and said it should pay him damages for ''"all the suffering and six years spent in detention"''. One of the three judges voted against the suspension of the trial stating that it was "unfair to interrupt the trial of someone who has spent almost six years in detention". A contempt of court case against Šešelj was opened for having revealed, in a book he had written, the identities of three witnesses whose names had been ordered suppressed by the tribunal, and for which he was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment by the ICTY. On 24 July 2009, he was sentenced to 15 months in detention for disrespecting the court after publishing names of trial witnesses on his personal website. On 25 November 2009, it was announced that Šešelj's trial would resume on 12 January 2010. The trial resumed on schedule and continued until 17 March 2010. On 10 March 2010, the weekly ICTY press briefing announced that Šešelj was scheduled to appear in court on 20 April 2010 for contempt of court for allegedly disclosing court restricted information on 11 protected witnesses. This is the second time he was charged with contempt. In July 2009 he was found guilty of contempt on similar charges involving two protected witnesses and was sentenced to fifteen months in jail. On 17 March 2010, the weekly ICTY press briefing announced that "The trial of Vojislav Šešelj has been adjourned until further notice, pending checks on the health status of the remaining four Chamber witnesses". In the weekly ICTY briefing on 24 March stated "The trial of Vojislav Šešelj is expected to continue on Tuesday at 14:15 in Courtroom I with the testimony of one of the four remaining Trial Chamber witnesses". On 14 April 2010, the weekly ICTY press briefing announced that with only one witness still to be heard, on 30 March 2010 Šešelj trial was adjourned until further notice but was likely to resume in May 2010, after Šešelj's second contempt proceeding initiated against him by the Tribunal have ended. Prosecutors demanded a 28-year sentence against Šešelj for allegedly recruiting paramilitary groups and inciting them to commit atrocities during the Balkan wars of the early 1990s. In closing remarks at his war crimes trial on 14 March 2012, Šešelj said the Yugoslav tribunal empowered by the U.N. Security Council is actually a creation of Western intelligence agencies and it doesn't have jurisdiction in his case. He reportedly vowed "to make a mockery of his trial". In September 2011, the ICTY rejected Šešelj's bid to have his long-running trial discontinued. In his submission to the court, Šešelj had argued that his right to be tried in a reasonable amount of time has been violated, and called the situation "incomprehensible, scandalous and inappropriate". However, the bench ruled that "there is no predetermined threshold with regard to the time period beyond which a trial may be considered unfair on account of undue delay" and declared that Šešelj "failed to provide concrete proof of abuse of process".


Provisional release

On 6 November 2014, the ICTY granted Šešelj provisional release. The decision was made on the basis of Šešelj's diagnosis of metastatic
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
and deteriorating health. Šešelj returned to Belgrade after spending more than 11 years on what proved to be an inconclusive trial at the Hague.


Verdict

On 31 March 2016, one week after the conviction of Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadžić Radovan Karadžić ( sr-cyr, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Bosnian Serb politician, psychiatrist and poet. He was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tr ...
, the ICTY found Šešelj not guilty on all charges, with a majority decision on eight counts and a unanimous decision on one. His acquittal was described by ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' as "a victory for advocates of ethnic cleansing" which would have "broad ramifications for international justice." Aleksandar Vucic, who served as the PM at the time, commented that the case against Šešelj was inherently flawed and politicized from the beginning. The acquittal was appealed by prosecutors from the MICT, a United Nations Security Council agency which functions as oversight program of, and successor entity to, the ICTY. On 11 April 2018, the Appeals Chamber sentenced him to 10 years in prison under Counts 1, 10, and 11 of the indictment for instigating
deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
,
persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
( forcible displacement), and other inhumane acts (
forcible transfer Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
) as
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
due to his speech in Hrtkovci on 6 May 1992, in which he called for the expulsion of Croats from Vojvodina.


Personal life

Šešelj's wife, Jadranka Šešelj (
Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...
: Јадранка Шешељ) was born in
Podujevo Podujevo ( sr-Cyrl, Подујево), Podujeva, or Besiana ( sq-definite, Podujevë or ''Besianë''), is a city and municipality in Kosovo's Pristina District. According to the 2011 census, the city of Podujeva has 23,453 inhabitants, while t ...
on 11 October 1960. She participated in the
President of Serbia The president of Serbia ( sr, Председник Србије, Predsednik Srbije), officially styled as the President of the Republic ( sr, Председник Републике, Predsednik Republike) is the head of state of Serbia. The curr ...
elections in 2012 but failed to pass the first round gaining 3.78% of the votes. She is a member of the SRS.


Health

Šešelj was diagnosed with
metastatic Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...
cancer and underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his colon on 19 December 2013, and later underwent
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
.


Books

Šešelj authored 183 books, mostly in the form of (court) documents and transcripts from interviews and public appearances. Some of the book titles are formulated as insults to his opponents, ICTY judges and prosecutors, and domestic and foreign political figures.


Honours

* January 29, 2015:
White Angel ''White Angel'' ( sr, Бели анђео / ''Beli anđeo'') is a detail of one of the best known frescoes in Serbian culture in the Mileševa monastery, ''Mironosice na Hristovom grobu'' (the Myrrhbearers at Christ's tomb), dated c. 1235 in ...
honour received at the
Mileševa Monastery The Mileševa Monastery ( sr-cyr, Манастир Милешева, Manastir Mileševa, or ) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located near Prijepolje, in southwest Serbia. It was founded by King Stefan Vladislav I, in the years between 1234 and ...
by hand of the Serbian Orthodox bishop Filaret.


References


Literature

* * *


External links


Profile: Vojislav Šešelj
bbc.co.uk *
Vojislav Šešelj ICTY indictment
icty.org
ICTY Tribunal Update
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 4 November 2005, No. 428
"Lawyer Warns Šešelj Trial May Collapse"
ICTY Tribunal Update, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 20 February 2009, No. 589.
Vojislav Šešelj official website

"Vojislav Šešelj in his own words""Vojislav Šešelj: Milošević's hard-line ally"Šešelj goes on trial at The Hague over Serbian crimes""Serbia's Šešelj incited ethnic cleansing""Vojislav Šešelj about Serbian history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seselj, Vojislav 1954 births Living people Politicians from Sarajevo Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Prisoners and detainees of Yugoslavia Serbian National Renewal politicians Serbian Radical Party politicians Leaders of the Serbian Radical Party People indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Politicians of the Bosnian War Politicians of the Croatian War of Independence Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Yugoslav dissidents Candidates for President of Serbia Serbian nationalists Serbian anti-communists Serbian political scientists Serbian writers Sarajevo Law School alumni University of Belgrade Faculty of Law alumni Yugoslav expatriates in the United States Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Serbian people convicted of crimes against humanity Serbian politicians convicted of crimes Deniers of the Bosnian genocide Serbian conspiracy theorists