Šešelj given three days to respond to conditions

Šešelj given three days to respond to conditions

THE HAGUE -- The Hague (ICTY) has given Vojislav Šešelj a 3-day deadline to declare in writing that he will comply with the conditions of his possible provisional release.

The first condition set by the Tribunal is that Šešelj be placed under supervision of the Serbian authorities from the moment of his release at an airport in the Netherlands until his return.

The Tribunal also wants Šešelj to be under house arrest throughout the period of his provisional release, hand in his passport to the Serbian authorities, maintain no contact with victims or witnesses and make no attempt to influence them in any way.

Under one of the conditions, Šešelj must not obstruct the procedure or the course of justice, and may discuss his case only with members of his legal team.

The Tribunal demands that Šešelj strictly comply with all demands of the Serbian authorities in order to enable them to meet the obligations stipulated by the decision on provisional release.

The Tribunal also wants Šešelj to be returned to The Hague on a date set by the trial chamber, and strictly comply with all orders from the chamber that alter the conditions of his provisional release or terminate it.

The explanation of the order said that, on June 24, the chamber called on the Serbian and Dutch governments to comment on guarantees for Šešelj's possible provisional release, after which the Serbian government expressed readiness on July 2 to offer such guarantees in case Šešelj formally binds himself to comply with certain conditions.

Šešelj voluntarily surrendered himself to the ICTY on February 23, 2003. He pleaded not guilty to all counts in an...