Court: Milosevic fit for trial
THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The U.N. tribunal has ruled that former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is fit to stand trial, but may not be healthy enough to continue defending himself against charges of war crimes and genocide.
The judges ordered Milosevic, 62, to undergo a new medical examination by an independent cardiologist and postponed hearings in his case until next week.
"There is no evidence that the accused is not fit to stand trial at all, but there is evidence that the health of the accused is such that he may not be fit to continue to represent himself," they said.
If Milosevic's health permits, the trial will resume on July 14 for a week before adjourning for six weeks to allow him more time to prepare his defense.
Judges at the tribunal at The Hague said they had not decided yet whether to impose a defense lawyer on Milosevic.
The rulings on how the case will proceed came after the trial was adjourned Monday due to concerns about his health.
The tribunal was told then by doctors that Milosevic was suffering from high blood pressure and heart complaints.
Milosevic, a former lawyer, was present in court Monday. He had planned to present opening defense statements to 66 war crimes charges -- including genocide, during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s filed against him.
Instead, the tribunal heard details of Milosevic medical troubles.
"It's quite clear over the past five months that his health had been gradually declining," Steven Kay, one of the independent lawyers assigned to ensure a fair trial for Milosevic, told the panel of three judges.
Based on new medical reports he was not fit to appear in court this week, he said.
Milosevic's failing health has regularly delayed the trial since it began in February 2002.
Prior to Monday's court appearance, Milosevic said he would call hundreds of witnesses in his defense.
The prosecution, which wrapped up its case in February after testimony from nearly 300 witnesses, has tried to link Milosevic directly to the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s that left more than 200,000 people dead.
 Milosevic's physical appearance Monday was in contrast to that earlier in the trial (above). |  |
Milosevic has pleaded innocent and insists on defending himself despite his poor health.
He has demanded that former U.S. President Bill Clinton and over 1,600 others appear as defense witnesses, but Milosevic has only 150 days to present his case.
The court has also said that he must provide good reason as to why any witness should appear.
But the former Serb strongman also refuses to recognize the legality of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and observers say he could run into procedural difficulties while conducting his own defense.
Milosevic has argued in the past that a 1999 crackdown he ordered on ethnic Albanian Muslims in Kosovo was intended to protect the Serbian minority there.
He also says NATO's 78-day bombing campaign, which forced out his troops from the region, caused civilian deaths.
Additionally, Milosevic has said that when he was president of a crumbling Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, he did not have control over Serb troops in neighboring Croatia and Bosnia.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
