Prosecutors Seek 28 Years For Serb Ultranationalist

Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj during his trial in The Hague in 2009

Prosecutors at the UN's Yugoslav war crimes court have asked for a 28-year sentence for Serbian ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj, who is accused of incitement to commit atrocities in the 1990s Balkan wars.

Seselj, 57, is charged with nine counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for making hate speeches and urging paramilitary units to commit murder, torture, and rape during the conflicts.

Prosecutor Mathias Marcussen told The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia that Seselj's crimes "are grave in scale and heinous by nature."

Seselj is also accused of recruiting volunteers connected to his Serbian Radical Party (SRS) to commit crimes "with particular violence and brutality."

Seselj, who has been in detention since 2003, is to conclude his own defense on March 12.

With AFP and AP reporting