Two former MPs of the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS) have been named as involved in corruption by the State Department.

A press release said that “the United States is designating former Serbian National Assembly Representatives Vjerica Radeta and Petar Jojic for their involvement in significant corruption”. The designation means that they are being denied entry into the US.

“While serving in the National Assembly of Serbia, Radeta and Jojic bribed and intimidated witnesses scheduled to appear before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to dissuade them from offering incriminating evidence against SRS leader Vojislav Seselj, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. Their conduct interfered with judicial processes, leading the ICTY to issue international arrest warrants for contempt, threatening regional stability, and adversely impacting the national interests of the United States,” it said.

The Serbian authorities have so far refused to act on an order from the Tribunal for the arrest and extradition of Radeta and Jojic on contempt charges.