Brent Hicks, an attorney from the court mechanism in The Hague, has reported a delay in his planned visit to Belgrade concerning the legal proceedings against Vojislav Šešelj, the leader of the Serbian Radical Party.

The delay is attributed to an absence of communication from the acting war crimes prosecutor's office in Serbia.

In a brief report submitted to the mechanism’s president in The Hague, Hicks indicated that he received confirmation from the prosecutor's office that they had received all necessary documentation related to the case.

He noted that a decision on the next steps would be taken in accordance with the relevant regulations once the case is reviewed.

Hicks expressed gratitude on January 28, 2025, for the response from the Serbian prosecutor’s office and requested a brief meeting on March 5 or 6, when he intended to travel to Belgrade.

Further, he requested a status update on February 13 regarding the possibility of arranging a meeting, suggesting that a video call might be feasible in early March.

According to Hicks, the key interlocutor on the Serbian side, the acting prosecutor, has been unavailable in recent weeks, providing only limited responses to his inquiries.

Consequently, Hicks has decided to postpone his upcoming monitoring mission and direct contact with the prosecutor while continuing to monitor the situation remotely.

Hicks previously visited Belgrade in November of the previous year, as the war crimes prosecution is set to be conducted by the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office before the Higher Court in Belgrade.

In early October, the mechanism announced that Hicks would oversee the trial against Šešelj and four other accused radicals: Miljan Damjanović, Miroljub Ignjatović, Ljiljana Mihajlović, and Ognjen Mihajlović.

The indictment charges them with obstructing justice and disclosing confidential information regarding protected witnesses.