Milosevic dies in jail

Quote:

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has died, the UN tribunal said on Saturday, just months before his war crimes trial was expected to conclude.

"Milosevic was found lifeless on his bed in his cell at the United Nations detention unit," the tribunal said in a statement.

"The guard immediately alerted the detention unit officer in command and the medical officer. The latter confirmed that Slobodan Milosevic was dead."

The tribunal said the Dutch police and a Dutch coroner were called in and started an inquiry. A full autopsy and toxicological examination have been ordered. Milosevic's family has been informed, it added.

The tribunal did not say how Milosevic had died. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told Reuters Milosevic had died of natural causes.

Milosevic, 64, suffered a heart condition and high blood pressure which had repeatedly interrupted his trial in The Hague on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Two cardiologists treating Milosevic in The Hague had warned he was at risk of a potentially life threatening condition known as a hypertensive emergency, when surges in blood pressure can damage the heart, kidneys and central nervous system.

Last month, the tribunal rejected a request by Milosevic to travel to Russia for specialist medical treatment, noting that his trial -- that has already lasted four years -- was in the final stages and he might not return to complete it.

The court said Milosevic's lawyers had not shown that his medical needs could not be met in the Netherlands and said experts from abroad could come to The Hague to treat him.

Milosevic, who was overthrown in 2000 and sent to The Hague in June 2001, said last month his health was worsening.

Milosevic's brother lives in Russia and prosecutors suspect his wife and son do too. The prosecution had opposed his release despite a promise by Russia to return him, fearing he could say his health stopped him from travelling back to The Hague.

The former Serb strongman was defending himself and had refused to cooperate with court-appointed lawyers who are on standby to fill in for him when he is ill.

He had used up more than four-fifths of the 150 days allotted for his defence, suggesting the case could be wrapped up in the next few months barring any new delays. Judges would then need several months to deliberate before a verdict.

Milosevic is charged with 66 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in complex indictments covering conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo in the 1990s. He declined to enter a plea.

Last week, former rebel Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic committed suicide at the tribunal's detention centre. Babic had testified against Milosevic and was in The Hague to appear in the trial of another top Croatian Serb.

Scource: http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/News...-MILOSEVIC.xml

I also heard it from numerous German and Serbian sources, so I think that reuters.co.uk is somehow telling the truth.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Watts

I wonder how badly this will interrupt the process of justice.

I think you can forget the trial now since he is dead. First Babic, then Milosevic...I wonder how long Seselj and Gotovina will make it.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by The Dopefish

They'll probably continue the trial and posthumously find him guilty on all charges, for closure and shit.

Or it will be like this, since he has defended himself without a lawyer all the time.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Musharraf

It is really a shame that all war criminals die before they can face REAL justice. Same will happen to Saddam, just wait...

I agree! Itzebegovic and Tudjman were also war criminals, but they died before there were some charges. Karadzic and Mladic are still somewhere in Bosnia.

Some of the ciminals are even released from prison like Fatmir Limaj or the charges are dropped for no reason like the ones one Hasim Tachi.

But what about the war criminals like Bush and Blair? Will they face somday "REAL justice"? Somehow I don't think so...

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Atomic Duck

Well, that's because the whole trial has incompetence written all over it. As soon as I heard it honestly took them a year to figure out how to charge him with anything I knew they had no clue what the hell they were doing. It's just one big political circus act with incompetent clowns running the show.

That 's right! Why else would it take them over 5 years?

The trial was often live broadcasted on RTS (Radio Televizija Srbija). Always when Milosevic had some very good counter-statements, the judges turned off his microphone.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Breakable

How can anyone justify attempted genocide and crimes against humanity?

Because it is not for 100% sure if Milosevic has the full responsibility for ALL massacres in Bosnia commited by Serbs. Karadzic and Mladic made many crimes on their own without Milosevic's oders.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Devo

The U.S. would probably laugh at the U.N. and basically give it the finger (but in a diplomatic sense).

Aren't they doing it all the time already?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by t(-_-t)

Starting wars, especially when there is, at the time, apparent reasonable cause for the war, is completely different from what Milosevic did, which was basically to directly target and kill thousands of people of an ethnic group merely for the fact that they are in that group.
Genocide and war are different,

Ethnic cleansing during the Yugoslavia wars, was participied by all three groups. Serbs, Croats and Bosnians. The Croats wanted to cleanse Croatia from all Non-Croats and to do the same with the Croatian Part in Bosnia. The Bosnians wanted to create with the help of the Mujahedeen, a pan-islamistic state. And the Serbs wanted to annex the Serbian part of Bosnia and the Krajna in Croatia, by force such as genocide.
I can understand if the UN says "We have to do something!" But does this give you a reason to bomb innocent citizens, schools, hospitals and so on?

But what I find it somehow strange is, that the US has started wars without a UN mandate like fo example the bombig of Yugoslavia in 1999 or the war in Iraq 2003.

Originally Posted by t(-_-t)

and if you think they aren't, you need to keep quiet about international affairs, 'cuz you clearly don't really know what you are talking about.

Well for me the Balkans aren't international affairs since I am from the Balkans, from Bosnia and this has something to do with my homeland, so I think, to be as modest as possible, that I know what I'm talking about if the topic is the Balkans.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Killy

Or the assault on those young boys carried out by British soldiers. Or the use of cluster bombs (which are illegal, mind you) during the NATO bombings of Yugoslavia.

Illegal or not, this is the NATO. They can do what the hell they want.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Enkidu

I fear that this will have some severe consequences for the so-called hunt for Mladic and Karadzic. Serbia hasn't been cooperating very well, and now that their former president died in a foreign cell, they'll use that as an excuse to stop searching for the last two suspects, since they don't want them to die in a cell. Although nothing's sure yet, since the EU is putting more and more pressure on Serbia, threatening to halt the EU-membership.

I 'd say that this will have no consequences at all. The "search" for Karadzic and Mladic is nothing more than a joke. And there has been no evidence that tose guys are in Serbia at all since it is presumed that they are still in the Serbian part of Bosnia where they can roam almost freely. Both have many supporters.
Since Karadzic and Mladic are moving through Bosian territory, Serbia can do nothing. Del Ponte is just discracing herself, since she is too incompetent. Mlaic and Karadzic are hiding in an area which isn't even bigger than Maryland and she wasn't able to find them for almost 11 years! It is almost as embarrassing as the "search" for Bin Laden.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Enkidu

It it not HER job to be looking for them

What then is her job? Sitting around in the Hague and crying about what nasty boys those Serbs and Croats are?
It seems as it is her job to find those two, since the Serbs have no interest in handing them over. For now Serbia is rather hunting for Karic.
Lets imagine following situation:
The EU tells Serbia to arrest them and hand over to the Hague and then they would have an EU membership. But what guarante would Serbia have that the EU keeps her promise? And so instead of letting Serbia joning in, they let her rather to rot. And so this is one of the reasons why Serbia thinks that it would be better not to trust them and keep the "heroes" in the homeland and since many Serbs see Karadzic and Mladic as their heroes.

There's nowhere I can't reach.