Milosevic's Assigned Counsel Ask for his Provisional Release

Slobodan Milosevic's court-assigned counsel have requested that he be allowed to travel to Russia to receive medical treatment.  The assigned counsels' submission claims that two independent Russian physicians examined the Accused and determined that he suffers from a "cerebral venous circulation disorder" and that his current health-woes (due to which he has recently absented himself from trial) have developed, in part, due to uncorrected high blood pressure.   One of the examining physicians, Dr. Shumilina has claimed Milosevic has received "inadequate" treatment in The Hague and prescribed additional testing and a period of "ethiopathogenic" treatment in a specialized hospital, notably, the Bakoulev Center in Russia, where Shumilina and the other examining doctor, Prof. Golukhova.  Milosevic also claims to suffer from hearing loss.  Milosevic had previously verbally requested to be released during a recent court session, but the request was denied, in part because he refused to adhere to procedure and file a written submission.

Assigned counsel argue that the recommendations made by the Russian doctors should be given weight by the Court as Milosevic himself has relied on these doctors for examination and diagnosis, and trusts them and that he is entitled to make reasonable requests pertaining to medical treatment.  As an alternative to accepting Milosevic's medical team opinions, the assigned counsel have asked for a hearing so that the Trial Chamber can hear evidence from the relevant specialists. 

The Milosevic trial will resume on 23 January 2006, the break due in part to his latest health concerns, and coincidently because of overlap with the winter recess at the Tribunal. 

Standards for Provisional Release

The principal standards governing provisional release decisions under Rule 65 are: that the accused will appear for trial and, if released, will not pose a danger to any victim, witness or other person.

The submission notes that guarantees from the Russian Federation to secure Milosevic and ensure that he returns to trial are "in the process of being obtained."  Counsel argue that Milosevic will not abscond from the reach of the ICTY because he is 64 years old, immediately recognizable and in ill-health.  Milosevic poses no threat to witnesses or victims, they argued, as he is seeking treatment in Russia, geographically distant from the former Yugoslavia. 

On the procedural front, the request notes that the "trial is now in the latter stages of the defence case."  But also goes on to note that there "may be a short rebuttal case."  Remember however, that these are Milosevic's court-assigned counsel making the argument.  Milosevic himself considers that he is not nearly close to being finished with his defense as he has largely led only Kosovo specific evidence, even though he has used up 75% of his allotted time and has recently been denied an extension of time.  He has repeatedly made it clear however, that he will continue to seek more time to present the Bosnia and Croatia portions of his defense.  The judges have left a small crack open for time extension if he improves his court-room behavior and leads relevant evidence only.

Finally defense counsel cite the principles of equality of treatment (as others have been granted provisional release for health reasons) and interests of the trial - for "smooth running of the trial."  This last comment underscores how vulnerable the trial process is to Milosevic's health. During the Prosecution case, he was absent 13 times.  There has been criticism leveled against Milosevic that he may be using the issue of his health as leverage in the trial - that if he does not get his way, he can obstruct the functioning of the trial by exploiting his health problems.

Prosecution Response
The OTP has filed an "interim" response to the request, opposing the request.  The "interim" nature of the response derives from the OTP's view that because defence counsel is "in the process" of seeking guarantees from the Russian Federation, the Prosecutors must wait until such guarantees are obtained before responding fully.  The Prosecution has also requested that a comprehensive hearing be conducted to ascertain what they consider the "true" medical condition of the Accused, and have raised the possibility that his ailments may be fraudulent, brought about by his own conduct or genuine.  The OTP has also insisted that the trial proceed on 23 January "with or without the accused present in court."  OTP has demanded a witness list from Milosevic in order to be prepared come 23 January and also in order so that assigned defence counsel can be prepared to call witnesses.  The OTP appears keen to have the trial commence with court-assigned counsel instead of Milosevic, in hopes, perhaps that they will be more efficient at finishing the Kosovo phase and getting on to Bosnia and Croatia so that the trial may end and verdict delivered.  In its opposition, the OTP had made repeated references to Milosevic's well-known views concerning the legitimacy of the ICTY, in order to demonstrate that despite defence counsels' submissions, Milosevic actually does remain a flight risk. 

A note on Russia

Assigned counsel submit that Russia, "as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will be mindful of its obligations" to cooperate with the ICTY and its dealings with the Accused.  The Court will likely bear in mind that Russia has not always been that helpful when it comes to fugitives from the ICTY.  Currently, it is widely believed that Serbian MUP Police General and one-time Milosevic co-accused Vlastimir Djordevic is hiding in Russia.  Dragan Zelenovic was arrested in Russia this past summer, but his transfer to the ICTY is still pending. In 2000, VJ Chief of Staff Dragolub Ojdanic, already indicted by the ICTY for war crimes in Kosovo was officially welcomed to the Kremlin and met with high-level Russian Defense and Foreign Ministry officials and even attended a military parade.  Other ICTY fugitives are also believed to have been in Russia, and Milosevic's brother was the former Yugoslav Ambassador to Russia.