Milosevic defence at ‘a dead end’

THE HAGUE – Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s defence case has reached a dead end because he will not allow lawyers to represent him at his war crimes trial, his court-assigned counsel said yesterday.

“We have driven ourselves into the sand,” the lawyer, Steven Kay, told an appeal against the imposition of counsel. He cited Milosevic’s refusal to instruct the lawyers and difficulties obtaining defence witnesses to testify in what he called the world’s biggest criminal trial.Milosevic is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s in what is regarded as Europe’s most significant war crimes trial since top Nazis were tried at Nuremberg after World War Two.Milosevic does not recognise the court and declined to enter a plea.Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.”We have been unable in our judgment to say that we are meaningfully putting forward the case of the accused,” Kay told the five appeals judges at the UN war crimes tribunal where Milosevic has been on trial since February 2002.”When you have no instructions, you are nothing.”Milosevic conducted his own defence for the first 30 months of the marathon trial but judges appointed two British lawyers in September to represent him, on the grounds of his heart condition and high blood pressure.- Nampa-ReutersHe cited Milosevic’s refusal to instruct the lawyers and difficulties obtaining defence witnesses to testify in what he called the world’s biggest criminal trial.Milosevic is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s in what is regarded as Europe’s most significant war crimes trial since top Nazis were tried at Nuremberg after World War Two.Milosevic does not recognise the court and declined to enter a plea.Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.”We have been unable in our judgment to say that we are meaningfully putting forward the case of the accused,” Kay told the five appeals judges at the UN war crimes tribunal where Milosevic has been on trial since February 2002.”When you have no instructions, you are nothing.”Milosevic conducted his own defence for the first 30 months of the marathon trial but judges appointed two British lawyers in September to represent him, on the grounds of his heart condition and high blood pressure.- Nampa-Reuters