The war crimes trial of the ultra-nationalist Serbian politician Vojislav Seselj has opened in his absence, after the hunger-striking defendant failed to appear in court.
When Seselj, who has insisted on conducting his own defence, did not turn up for a preliminary hearing, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) appointed permanent counsel in his place.
The leader of the Serbian Radical Party, the biggest party in Serbia's parliament, Seselj has been on hunger strike since November 10.
Presiding judge Alphons Orie said the defandant's weakened state as a result of refusing both food and medicine did not justify delaying the start of his trial on charges of murder and torture.
"The absence of the accused is caused by -- if not a conscious decision not to appear -- then by a self-induced weak physical condition that cannot be accepted as a reason to postpone the start of this trial," Orie said Monday.
Seselj, 52, has consistently refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the court and, acting as his own lawyer, has sought to thwart pre-trial proceedings in every possible way.
His antics have carried strong echoes of those employed during his trial at the ICTY by former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic who died in UN custody here in March.
The judge appointed British lawyer David Hooper to defend Seselj, who has so far refused contact with any counsel provided by the court and branded them prosecution spies.
Seselj faces charges of having formed a joint criminal enterprise in 1991-1993 aimed at driving out Croats, Muslims and other non-Serbs from swathes of Croatia, Bosnia and northern Serbia to create an ethnically pure "Greater Serbia".
This so-called ethnic cleansing was achieved by murders, beatings, rape, destruction of houses and threats against Muslims and Croats, prosecutors say.
In her opening statement prosecutor, Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff described Seselj as "a master of political manipulation masked by patriotic rhetoric" who was the unchallenged leader of the Serbian Radical Party and its military wing the Serb Chetnik Movement.
According to the prosecution, his hate-mongering speeches caused thousands of Serbian volunteers to sign up and fight in the wars in Croatia and Bosnia.
"This case is not only about the accused's words. The accused ... took part in the financing, supply, transfer and direction of the actions of volunteers participating with the other Serb forces in the persecution of non-Serbs," Uertz-Retzlaff said.
Seselj faces three counts of crimes against humanity including persecution, deportation and inhumane acts, as well as six war-crime counts.
He was twice removed from court in procedural hearings because of "disruptive behaviour" and he has accused the ICTY of trying to infect him with a deadly disease and of carrying out "satanic rituals".
Seselj also used abusive language in his submissions, revealed the name of a protected witness and complained that the judges' robes reminded him of the Spanish inquisition or Gestapo uniforms.
On Monday, the judges decided that the prosecution could deliver its opening statement and on Tuesday Seselj will have the opportunity to give a statement but it's unclear if he will do so.
PHOTO CAPTION
Serbian ultra-nationalist leader Vojislav Seselj in The Hague, February 26, 2003. (Reuters)