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Genocide trial doubt { July 26 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/26/international/europe/26MILO.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/26/international/europe/26MILO.html
July 26, 2002
Milosevic Ill; Genocide Trial Is Cast in Doubt
By MARLISE SIMONS
THE HAGUE, July 25 — The former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, suffers from severe heart disease and dangerously high blood pressure, and needs medical treatment and less work in court, the United Nations war crimes tribunal announced today.
The finding that Mr. Milosevic runs a serious risk of a heart attack is almost certain to change the pace and the shape of his war crimes trial, the most important such prosecution since Nazi and Japanese commanders were tried after World War II. The trial opened five months ago and, even at the current rate, could last three years.
Mr. Milosevic, who is 60, is conducting his own defense in the proceedings, which began with charges involving the war he waged against Kosovo Albanians in 1998 and 1999. He is charged with genocide committed during the war in Bosnia, and it now seems it could be many months before he answers that accusation.
During his 13 years in power, Mr. Milosevic led the Serbs through four wars — in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo — that killed more than 200,000 people and drove more than a million from their homes.
The report of serious health problems came as the trial entered a fascinating new phase, with key members of the former Milosevic government — including the chief of the secret police — testifying about the inner workings of the secretive regime as it repressed Albanians in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999.
Trial judges had ordered a thorough medical checkup of Mr. Milosevic after he fell ill for the second time in June. They suspended proceedings for a third time a week ago, when Mr. Milosevic's already high blood pressure rose sharply.
The presiding judge, Richard May, said today that the medical report described Mr. Milosevic "as a man with severe cardiovascular risk which demands careful future monitoring." He said it recommended treatment by a heart specialist and a reduction in Mr. Milosevic's workload. Judge May said the court was ordering such treatment and would then decide how to proceed.
Today Mr. Milosevic's former secret police chief, Rade Markovic, appeared as a witness for the prosecution. Mr. Markovic was transferred here from his prison cell in Belgrade, where he is being held on charges of murdering political opponents, and he is seen as a close Milosevic ally who may shed light on how atrocities in Kosovo were covered up.
Mr. Markovic, who ran the secret police for the last two years of Mr. Milosevic's rule, told the court that Interior Ministry and military officials reported in detail to Mr. Milosevic each day on their activities.
The witnesses from Mr. Milosevic's government have been a boon for the prosecution, with policemen and soldiers who were on active duty during the war giving sometimes shocking details about atrocities against ethnic Albanians.
But the mood among prosecutors and observers anxious to see Mr. Milosevic brought to justice has been far from upbeat. Rather, the confirmation of Mr. Milosevic's ill health has caused alarm. While it is not being said out loud, there is deep concern among court officials about the repercussions if Mr. Milosevic could no longer appear in court or suffered a heart attack.
Lawyers who work with Mr. Milosevic said his heart condition is not new. He has been hospitalized in Yugoslavia in the past for heart trouble and he was also taking medicine for high blood pressure while in detention in Belgrade before his arrival in The Hague just over a year ago, the lawyers said.
"In Belgrade and here, he always says he is fine," said one lawyer, Zdenko Tomanovic, who sees Mr. Milosevic almost every day. "He takes medicine but he never complains and never wants extra care."
The medical report ordered by the court was prepared by two Dutch doctors from outside the prison who examined Mr. Milosevic. A Serbian cardiologist from the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade who had treated Mr. Milosevic before and who had come to The Hague at his request was present during the examination.
At today's hearing, the judges did not disclose any details from the report, but a lawyer who had seen it said Mr. Milosevic has a severe problem in his left artery and damage to the heart.
"This, together with the high blood pressure, puts him at high risk for a heart attack," the lawyer said, referring to the report. He said the doctors felt that the physical stress of the Yugoslav's illness and the stress of the trial have depressed his immune system, which has made him more prone to infections. Mr. Milosevic has had two long bouts of flu with high fever this year.
Mr. Milosevic's systolic blood pressure is about 200, though last week it suddenly rose above 240 and hearings were suspended for two days, the lawyer said. A reading of 140 to 160 would be normal.
The task he has undertaken, conducting his own defense, is enormous by any standards. He has insisted on cross-examining every witness, and there have been 100 so far.
Mr. Milosevic, who often looks unwell, interrogates witnesses longer than the prosecution. During a hearing today, the chief prosecutor, Geoffrey Nice, said that since the beginning of the trial, prosecutors had held the floor in court for 93 hours and Mr. Milosevic for 140 hours.
The two lawyers from Belgrade who assist him say he often spends his evenings preparing questions. To prepare for the next portion of the trial, dealing with the wars in Croatia and Bosnia, he recently received 90,000 pages and 500 videocassettes. "I will need 360 days just to read this once," he said today in court.
Prosecutors today suggested that the court impose a lawyer on Mr. Milosevic to reduce his workload. Judge Patrick Robinson proposed a compromise: that the Serb share the cross-examinations with a lawyer without losing his right to defend himself.
"That would allow you some rest," the judge said. "It's a bit unusual but it has happened in some places."
Mr. Milosevic said he would hold on to every opportunity to "speak the truth."
"I do not recognize this court and I have no intention of appointing a counsel for a nonexisting court," he said.
"As for my health," he went on, "I never asked in these months for a single break. The fact that you ordered a medical examination and now you have a report, that's your problem. You should not harbor any illusion that I'm asking for anything."
Judge Robinson responded: "Your health is of paramount concern to the chamber. The overriding concern for me is your health."
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