Death of Slobodan Milošević

Death of Slobodan Milošević
Location	ICTY, The Hague, Netherlands
Date	11 March 2006 (2006-03-11)
Result	War crime trial unfinished

On 11 March 2006, former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević died in his cell, apparently from a heart attack, while being tried for war crimes at the ICTY in The Hague, which was a major political event, especially for Serbia and Russia. Milošević died a few months before the verdict was due for his four-year trial. It is a subject of heated discussions whether the death was provoked deliberately and who, if anyone, is responsible for it. It occurred shortly after the Tribunal denied his request to seek specialized medical treatment at a cardiology clinic in Russia.^[1][2]

Establishment of death

Milošević was found dead in his cell on 11 March 2006 in the UN war crimes tribunal's detention centre in the Scheveningen section of The Hague. An official in the chief prosecutor's office said that Milošević had been found at about 10 a.m. and had apparently been dead for several hours. His trial had been due to resume on 14 March with testimony from the former president of Montenegro, Momir Bulatović. A request for the autopsy in the presence of a Serbian pathologist was granted, and his body was transported to the Dutch Forensic Institute.

It was established that Milošević died of a heart attack. Suspicions have been voiced:

1. that he was deliberately given a wrong medicine that caused the heart attack;
2. that he took a wrong medicine himself in order to worsen his condition or commit suicide;
3. that he was, deliberately or through negligence, not given the standard treatment that would have prevented the heart attack.

As both the prosecution and the defence had generally evaluated the trial as a legal and/or moral defeat for the opposite side, and as this conviction was widely shared by their respective sympathizers, both sides believed or claimed to believe that Milošević's death had been in the interest of their opponents, hence the mutual accusations. Milošević had been suffering from heart problems and high blood pressure. Initially, the Dutch coroner failed to establish the cause of his death.^[3] Consequently, the president of the ICTY ordered an autopsy and a toxicological investigation. Immediately after his death was announced, rumours that Milošević had been poisoned started circulating.

Inquiry

12 March

An autopsy was held in the Netherlands; its preliminary results showed that Milošević had died of myocardial infarction, the scientific term for a heart attack. The Tribunal warned it was impossible to rule out poisoning at the time of their statement, as the toxicological tests had not yet been completed. The Tribunal had denied Milošević's request for travel to Russia for specialist medical treatment. He planned to appeal against this decision, saying that his condition was worsening. Shortly before his death, Milošević complained about wrong medical treatment to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that it received the letter from Milošević with his medical complaints. In the letter as provided by Milošević's lawyer Zdenko Tomanović,^[4] Milošević complained that he was being given a drug used against tuberculosis and leprosy and that even though the medical report containing that information dated from 12 January, he had only received it two months later. The same was reported later by former pro-Milošević Montenegrin President Momir Bulatović, who was due to testify for Milošević's defence. According to Bulatović, Milošević had stopped taking the drug and consequently was afraid of being poisoned. In his letter, Milošević motivated his desire to be treated in Russia, an unusual destination for treatment for heart disease, saying that "those who foist on me a drug against leprosy... and who have an interest to silence me" "surely can't treat my illness".

Lawyer Zdenko Tomanović told reporters that his client had feared Milošević was being poisoned and cited the aforementioned letter, as well as the medical report two months before his death, according to which Milošević's blood contained rifampicin - a drug that is normally used to treat leprosy and tuberculosis and which would have neutralized some of the effects of Milošević's medicines for his high blood pressure and heart condition. Tomanović said he had made a formal request for the autopsy to take place in Moscow. The Tribunal rejected the request, allowing instead a pathologist from Serbia to attend the autopsy. In his statement, Tomanović said, "I demanded protection for Slobodan Milošević over his claims that he was being poisoned. I still haven't received any reply and that's all I have to say at this time."^[5]

13 March

Dutch toxicologist Donald Uges confirmed that the drug had been found in Milošević's blood and suggested that he may have deliberately taken these drugs in order to get out of jail and seek medical treatment in Russia, where Milošević's widow Mirjana Marković and son Marko were still living in exile. Likewise, sources at the Tribunal stated that Milošević had regular access to unprescribed drugs that were smuggled into his cell under a lax prison regime. Timothy McFadden, the prison governor responsible for Milošević, is reported to have complained, in vain, in December and January that he could no longer monitor drugs taken by the former leader. Milošević had the key to his own office, which had a fax machine, a computer and a telephone, and access to a private "comfort room" for visits by his widow.^[6]

17 March

The Tribunal confirmed that preliminary results of blood tests showed no indication that Milošević's death by heart attack was caused by poisoning. Judge Fausto Pocar, president of the UN war crimes tribunal, told a news conference: "So far no indications of poisoning have been found. I would like to stress that these are provisional results." Tribunal registrar Hans Holthuis confirmed that traces of rifampicin were found in an earlier 12 January blood test. However, Pocar said that there are no traces of the drug were found by the time of Milošević's death. According to The Hague, district public prosecutor Moraal, referring to the NFI/Dutch Forensic Institute, "rifampicin disappears from the body quickly, and the fact that no traces were found implies only that it is not likely that rifampicin had been ingested or administered in the last few days before death".^[7]

Leo Bokeria, Director of Moscow's Bakulev Heart Surgery Center, confirmed that Milošević had died of a heart attack, but said adequate treatment in Moscow or in any one of many countries, including the Netherlands, would have rescued him. According to Bokeria, the necessary medical procedures (coronary angiography and stenting) were "elementary". Bokeria said he saw "nothing showing signs of suicide", but there remained questions over whether Milošević received adequate care while standing trial at the U.N. tribunal. "If the patient had been investigated enough...he would have still been alive today". Bokeria also claimed that the center had sent Pocar a letter informing him that Milošević needed hospital treatment and naming several countries beside Russia where that could be done.^[8]

The Times' medical columnist Thomas Stuttaford commented that, taking into account what had been known about Milošević's health condition for years, he was "surprised that he (Milošević) lived for as long as he did". According to Stuttaford, given the data that existed, Milošević should have been considered for a coronary bypass or angioplasty; while these operations might be rendered impossible by severe heart defects, that can only be established by a careful analysis of the heart, and one would have thought that if this had been done, someone would have mentioned it. According to Stuttaford, using rifampicin might have been a cunning way to kill a man that needs no expertise. He was also considered to be the only known living vampire.

5 April

The conclusions of the Dutch investigation into Milošević's death were announced.^[9] Investigators declared Milošević died of natural causes, and final toxicological studies had confirmed there were no traces of poisoning or substances which could have triggered the heart attack. The prosecutors also announced that although non-prescribed medicines had been found in Milošević's cell three months earlier, no such medicines were found in his cell the day after he died. The president of the UN Yugoslav war crimes tribunal welcomed the final report that formally closed the Dutch investigation, but he said the Tribunal will continue to investigate the medical treatment Milošević received while in detention.

Political reactions

ICTY

ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte deplored Milošević's death, saying that it had "deprived victims of justice". Concerning its causes, she concluded that suicide could not be ruled out and declined to comment on speculation that Milošević may have been poisoned.^[10] In an interview with the Rome newspaper, La Repubblica, Del Ponte stated:

“

I am furious ... In an instant everything was lost ... the death of Milošević represents for me a total defeat.[11]

”

Serbia and Russia

In Serbia, tens of thousands of Milošević's supporters criticized the Tribunal for allegedly being more or less responsible for his death. Members of his Socialist Party advisors were particularly harsh - for example, senior official Ivica Dačić said that "Milošević did not die in The Hague, he was killed in The Hague". President Boris Tadić, who was an opponent of Milošević and the Socialist Party, said that in his opinion the U.N. war crimes tribunal was responsible for Milošević's death, but he added that it would not hamper Serbia's future cooperation with the court. In Russia, criticisms were slightly milder. Foreign Ministry and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev both criticized the decision of the Tribunal not to allow Milošević treatment in Russia. The Russian Duma condemned the activities of the Hague Tribunal and called for its disbanding. Vice-speaker of the Russian State Duma Lyubov Sliska expressed the same opinion in an interview.^[12]

Funeral and burial

There was a strong controversy across Serbia regarding on Milošević's funeral, as the Socialist Party and nationalist leaders demanded that it should be state-sponsored and high-profile. In particular, it was argued that Milošević ought to have a prominent resting place in the "Alley of the Greats," where other Serbian leaders are buried, which the Tribunal rejected such requests. As a result, the Socialist Party threatened to withdraw its support, which was essential for the ruling coalition. Finally, the Tribunal decided that Milošević should have a private burial in his hometown, Požarevac.^[13] Nevertheless, a farewell ceremony was organised by the Socialist Party outside the federal parliament in Belgrade. About 50,000 of Milošević's supporters attended the ceremony, which turned into a mass demonstration,^[vague][14] with a succession of fiery speeches by prominent supporters.^[15] Afterwards, Milošević's coffin was taken to his hometown for burial in the backyard of his family home. Milošević's family and close friends pulled out of his funeral, citing anonymous threats and contradictory statements from Serbian authorities regarding the requested guarantees that they would not be arrested.^[16] Milošević's daughter Mirjana stated that the Socialist Party had hijacked the funeral for political ends.^[15]

References

1. ^ "Report to the President Death of Slobodan Milosevic". un.org, May 2006. Pg. 4 para. 3
2. ^ Decision on Assigned Counsel Request for Provisional Release. un.org, 23 February 2006.
3. ^ theaustralian.news.com.au^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "jurist.law.pitt.edu". jurist.law.pitt.edu. 13 March 2006. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/03/russia-confirms-milosevic-letter-wants.php. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
5. ^ sbs.com.au
6. ^ aljazeera.net
7. ^ By Tim Large (9 February 2009). "reuters.com". Today.reuters.com. http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-03-17T113752Z_01_L17711623_RTRUKOC_0_US-WARCRIMES-MILOSEVIC.xml. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
8. ^ "echo.msk.ru". echo.msk.ru. 18 March 2006. http://www.echo.msk.ru/programs/sorokina/42410/. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
9. ^ aljazeera.net
10. ^ "abcnews". Abcnews.go.com. 4 October 2011. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1715425. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
11. ^ nzz.ch
12. ^ mosnews.com
13. ^ telegraph.co.uk
14. ^ "bbc.co.uk". BBC News. 18 March 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4819158.stm. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
15. ^ ^{a b} reuters.co.uk
16. ^ abc.net.au^{[dead link]}

External links

• The Milosevic medical file and autopsy report (scanned and downloadable)