post #1
12 March 2006, 17:37 UTC#1
QUOTE
(CNN) -- The United Nation's chief prosecutor in The Hague says Slobodan Milosevic's death is a "great pity for justice" and makes it "more urgent than ever" to bring other war crimes fugitives to trial.
Carla Del Ponte told reporters a day after the former Yugoslav leader was found dead in his prison cell that victims have been deprived of "the justice they need and deserve."
"It is a great pity for justice that the trial will not be completed and no verdict will be rendered," she said Sunday in The Hague.
The U.N. war crimes tribunal is investigating the death of Milosevic, 64, who was found in bed at the Scheveningen detention center Saturday.
Del Ponte said Milosevic's death made it "more urgent than ever" to capture Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader, and Ratko Mladic, his top officer during the Balkans wars in the 1990s. (Srebrenica: 'A triumph of evil')
The European Union has told Serbia that it has until this month to hand over Mladic or the nation's prospective membership in the EU will be put on hold, said EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.
Mladic and Karadzic are charged with planning the July 1995 massacre at Srebrenica of 8,000 Muslim men and boys. Though they are considered pariahs internationally, about 10,000 demonstrators turned out in Belgrade last month in a show of support for Mladic.
Milosevic, who was on trial before the tribunal, had been dead for several hours, an official with the chief prosecutor's office said.
Milosevic's family and supporters are blaming the tribunal for his death.
His attorney, Zdenko Tomanovic, has said there were attempts to poison Milosevic in prison.
An autopsy was reportedly under way Sunday. Del Ponte said she expects autopsy results "very, very quick," possibly Sunday evening.
Officials earlier denied Tomanovic's request that the autopsy be performed in Russia, where Milosevic's family members are.
However, the tribunal said a senior pathologist from the Serbian capital of Belgrade was to attend the autopsy.
Milosevic's death came just a few months before the expected conclusion of his trial, which had lasted more than four years. (Watch what allegations brought Milosevic to The Hague -- 4:46)
Doctors had recommended Milosevic be closely monitored by a cardiologist and given rest days to manage elevated blood pressure.
The tribunal rejected Milosevic's February 24 request to travel to Russia for medical treatment. Milosevic had said he would appeal the decision, saying his health was worsening and called the ruling "highly unjust."
Milosevic's widow, Mirjana, said, "The tribunal has killed my husband."
His brother Boroslav also blamed the tribunal, saying, "It is four months since Slobodan asked to let him go for medical treatment."
Milosevic's death has generated a sweeping range of reactions.
Serbian President Boris Tadic expressed condolences to the Milosevic family, while High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Paddy Ashdown said the former Yugoslav president led "the great nation of Serbs into catastrophe and shame." Ashdown's position was created under the Dayton accords that brought peace to the warring factions in Bosnia in 1995.
Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. envoy who brokered the Dayton accords said, "I'm not going to shed any tears." (Read reactions)
Carla Del Ponte told reporters a day after the former Yugoslav leader was found dead in his prison cell that victims have been deprived of "the justice they need and deserve."
"It is a great pity for justice that the trial will not be completed and no verdict will be rendered," she said Sunday in The Hague.
The U.N. war crimes tribunal is investigating the death of Milosevic, 64, who was found in bed at the Scheveningen detention center Saturday.
Del Ponte said Milosevic's death made it "more urgent than ever" to capture Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader, and Ratko Mladic, his top officer during the Balkans wars in the 1990s. (Srebrenica: 'A triumph of evil')
The European Union has told Serbia that it has until this month to hand over Mladic or the nation's prospective membership in the EU will be put on hold, said EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.
Mladic and Karadzic are charged with planning the July 1995 massacre at Srebrenica of 8,000 Muslim men and boys. Though they are considered pariahs internationally, about 10,000 demonstrators turned out in Belgrade last month in a show of support for Mladic.
Milosevic, who was on trial before the tribunal, had been dead for several hours, an official with the chief prosecutor's office said.
Milosevic's family and supporters are blaming the tribunal for his death.
His attorney, Zdenko Tomanovic, has said there were attempts to poison Milosevic in prison.
An autopsy was reportedly under way Sunday. Del Ponte said she expects autopsy results "very, very quick," possibly Sunday evening.
Officials earlier denied Tomanovic's request that the autopsy be performed in Russia, where Milosevic's family members are.
However, the tribunal said a senior pathologist from the Serbian capital of Belgrade was to attend the autopsy.
Milosevic's death came just a few months before the expected conclusion of his trial, which had lasted more than four years. (Watch what allegations brought Milosevic to The Hague -- 4:46)
Doctors had recommended Milosevic be closely monitored by a cardiologist and given rest days to manage elevated blood pressure.
The tribunal rejected Milosevic's February 24 request to travel to Russia for medical treatment. Milosevic had said he would appeal the decision, saying his health was worsening and called the ruling "highly unjust."
Milosevic's widow, Mirjana, said, "The tribunal has killed my husband."
His brother Boroslav also blamed the tribunal, saying, "It is four months since Slobodan asked to let him go for medical treatment."
Milosevic's death has generated a sweeping range of reactions.
Serbian President Boris Tadic expressed condolences to the Milosevic family, while High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Paddy Ashdown said the former Yugoslav president led "the great nation of Serbs into catastrophe and shame." Ashdown's position was created under the Dayton accords that brought peace to the warring factions in Bosnia in 1995.
Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. envoy who brokered the Dayton accords said, "I'm not going to shed any tears." (Read reactions)
Slobadan Milosevic's death
