Hague Tribunal Suspends Serb Radical`s Trial

He faces 15 counts for crimes committed during 1991-1993, including torture, murder and forced deportation.

A U.N. war crimes tribunal suspended the trial of Serbian ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj on Wednesday after prosecutors said the case was compromised by threats against a witness.

Seselj is standing trial for murder, torture and persecution of non-Serbs during the 1990s wars in the former Yugoslavia. He also faces charges of contempt for revealing the identity of a witness against court orders.

Prosecutors asked last month for a suspension of the trial against Seselj, which began in late 2007, because pressure on witnesses threatened the integrity of proceedings.

Presiding Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti dissented against the 2-1 ruling, saying Seselj had been in custody since 2003 and that prosecutors were nearing the end of their allotted time for testimony.

Seselj, who has pleaded not guilty, faces life in prison for inciting violence against Bosnians and Croatians in his position as head of the Serbian Radical Party during the break- up of Yugoslavia.

He faces 15 counts for crimes committed during 1991-1993, including torture, murder and forced deportation by his party's militia against non-Serbs.