Serb Seselj convicted of contempt

Vojislav Seselj voluntarily surrendered to the ICTY in February 2003

Serb nationalist Vojislav Seselj has been jailed for 15 months for contempt of court by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Mr Seselj was convicted of disclosing the names and details of protected witnesses at his war crimes trial.

He went on trial in 2007 for alleged crimes committed in Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia between 1991 and 1994.

The 54-year-old has been detained since 2003 on three counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes.

Prosecutors at The Hague say Mr Seselj, leader of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), recruited and indoctrinated Serb forces with speeches containing "poisonous ideas" and sent them to commit "unspeakable crimes" against hundreds of non-Serbs.

The chamber considers this a serious interference with the administration of justice ICTY Judge Kwon O-Gon

He is accused of forming a joint criminal enterprise with the late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic to "ethnically cleanse" large parts of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia's northern Vojvodina region.

Mr Seselj, who like Milosevic is acting as his own lawyer, does not deny making nationalist speeches, but insists they did not constitute war crimes.

He says the tribunal is illegitimate and biased against Serbs, and accuses it of falsifying history by classing the 1995 Srebrenica massacre as genocide.

'Intentional violation'

In January, the ICTY charged Mr Seselj with contempt relating to the publication of the names, occupations and addresses of witnesses.

VOJISLAV SESELJ 1954: Born in Hercegovina 1984: Jailed for criticising Communists 1990: Sets up Serb Radical Party 1991: Elected to Serbian Assembly 1993: Forces dissolution of Serbian parliament 1999: Resigns as vice-president in Serbian Government 2002: Stands in Serbian presidential elections 2003: Indicted by ICTY 2007: Elected as Serbian MP; war crimes tribunal opens 2009: Sentenced to 15 months in jail by ICTY for contempt of court Charges against Seselj Seselj in his own words Profile: Vojislav Seselj

He was accused of writing a book in which the information was published, along with other material such as excerpts from a written statement by one witness, the disclosure of which was prohibited.

Mr Seselj, who on Friday identified himself as the "chief enemy of the Hague tribunal", testified in May that the witnesses' identities had already disclosed by other media.

But Judge Kwon O-Gon rejected his argument and said Mr Seselj had intentionally violated the court's orders and divulged a "myriad of detailed information".

"The chamber considers this a serious interference with the administration of justice, particularly given the potential adverse impact of such conduct upon witnesses' confidence in the tribunal's ability to guarantee the effectiveness of protective measures," he said.

The 15-month prison sentence, the longest ever handed down by the ICTY for contempt, was intended to "discourage this type of behaviour", the judge added.

Mr Seselj surrendered to the ICTY voluntarily in February 2003, vowing to clear his name. However, while awaiting trial he was elected one of the SRS's members of parliament in the 2007 election.