Milosevic trial postponed
Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic’s defence case against war crimes charges has been postponed until August 31 because of his ill health, the United Nations tribunal has said.
The trial had been due to resume in The Hague, in the Netherlands, on Monday, after four previous delays, but a new medical report indicated Milosevic’s blood pressure was still too high, court spokesman Jim Landale said.
“On the basis of the blood pressure values of the accused, (the doctor) advises he should not attend the hearing scheduled for Monday,” Landale said yesterday. No additional details of the medical report were released.
Milosevic, 62, has been on trial since February 2002, facing 66 counts of war crimes for the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The trial has been severely set back by his heart trouble, exhaustion and bouts with flu. It was further delayed by the resignation in February of presiding judge Richard May due to health reasons. May died earlier this month.
His defence case was initially due to begin on June 8. He has been given four hours to present opening remarks and will then begin calling witnesses. Milosevic, who refuses to recognise the court, insists on defending himself.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia will be closed for a regular summer recess from August 2-20.
Judges are considering forcing Milosevic to take a defence lawyer to lighten his workload and speed up the landmark trial. They ordered Milosevic to undergo a full medical examination to determine if he was healthy enough to represent himself and fit to stand trial at all.
Legal experts say the former Serbian leader’s deteriorating condition has increased the chance that the panel of three judges will impose a defence lawyer to represent him in court.
According to a medical report detailed in court on July 5, Milosevic has suffered “organ damage” due to high blood pressure, including “hypertrophy of the left ventricle”, meaning an enlargement of the main pumping chamber of the heart.
At times of stress, Milosevic’s blood pressure rises to 200/130, and falls to around 140/80 when he is relaxed. The first number reflects blood pressure as the heart beats, the second is the pressure between beats. A normal reading is 120/80 or less.
