Šešelj likely to be released on Tuesday

Šešelj likely to be released on Tuesday

BELGRADE -- It will be known on Monday when the leader of the Serb Radical Party (SRS) Vojislav Šešelj will return to Serbia, Rasim Ljajić has said.

The head of the Commission for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal (ICTY) and the deputy prime minister noted that Šešelj will most likely arrive on Tuesday.

"I stand by what we announced already, that Šešelj should arrive tomorrow.. During the day we will know for sure, because the Government of Serbia provides the ticket to Belgrade," he told the TV Pink broadcaster.

According to Ljajć, everything was ready for Šešelj's return as early as Friday, but that did not happen due to medical reasons.

Ljajić said that Šešelj's case is "unique im every manner," - both because the accused has spent nearly 12 years in prison, "and because of the way he was granted provisional release in order to receive medical treatment."

Ljajić added that the Tribunal in The Hague is making use of the fact Šešelj is ill with cancer to extract itself from the impasse that the legal case has reached.

Šešelj turned himself in after he was indicted of war crimes in early 2003, and has been incarcerated ever since. His trial started in 2007 and is still ongoing.