Milosevic's regular access to medication and alcohol
A UN war crimes tribunal official said today that the court was informed on several occasions that Slobodan Milosevic had regular access to unprescribed medication and alcohol smuggled into his prison cell in The Hague.
The official said that the unit’s prison warden had told the court that he could therefore no longer guarantee Milosevic’s health.
The prison warden, Timothy McFadden, refused interview requests and UN tribunal spokeswoman Alexandra Milenov said the court could not comment “because the investigation into Milosevic’s death is ongoing”.
The tribunal official, who has access to confidential documents on Milosevic’s medication use, said two doctors concluded that the former Serb leader was intentionally taking drugs that undermined the prescribed medication for his heart ailment.
Medical reports from August 2004 concluded that Milosevic was violating doctor’s orders and that he was on unprescribed medication, tribunal transcripts show.
On occasion, he also refused to take his heart medication, prosecutors have alleged during the course of the trial based on medical reports.
The doctors speculated that the banned drugs were probably smuggled in by visitors or his legal advisers, who were rarely checked thoroughly by the guards.
Milenov, who declined to comment on Milosevic’s medical regime or relate to his individual case, said “the normal procedure is for cells to be regularly checked. The results of cell checks are not something we typically disclose.”
Milosevic was allowed to work in a private office where he could meet confidentially with witnesses and legal advisers.
Milenov said visitors are normally searched and may be frisked. Attorneys and consular representatives have their bags put through metal detectors, she said, but “it’s not my understanding that they have a full body search”.
She added that prison guards routinely administer medicines to ensure that detainees receive prescribed care.
Trial records show the judges specifically ordered that guards monitor Milosevic’s medication after medical reports showed irregularities.
Milosevic, the official said, took a drug for leprosy and tuberculosis to counter the effect of medication used to treat hypertension and manipulate the proceedings in his war crimes trial to his advantage.
McFadden, the official said, informed the tribunal in December and January that he could no longer monitor Milosevic’s medication intake because of the conditions of his detention, a reference to Milosevic’s relative freedom to meet with people and the lack of iron-tight searches.
No response from the tribunal was ever given to McFadden’s warnings, the tribunal official said.
Milosevic was found dead in his prison cell on Saturday.
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