Special report: Milosevic found dead at The Hague detention center

     

Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic enters a court room of the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, in this August 31, 2004 file photo. (Xinhua photo)

BRUSSELS, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic died of natural causes, not as a result of murder by poisoning, says an internal report of the UN tribunal on Wednesday.

    "The findings of this inquiry confirm that Mr. Milosevic died of natural causes from a heart attack," says the report submitted by Kevin Parker, deputy president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

    The report was made available at the official Web site of the ICTY on Wednesday.

    "No poison was found in his body. No other chemical substance present in his body contributed to his death. No rifampicin was found in his body. There were no indications of external violence," says the report.

    Nothing has been found to support allegations reported in some sections of the media that Milosevic had been murdered, in particular by poisoning, it says.

    The 42-page report says Milosevic was alone in his locked cell in the UN Detention Unit (UNDU) in The Hague when he was found dead on the morning of March 11.

    It says the internal inquiry confirmed the findings of an independent Dutch investigation, which included an autopsy with full pathological and toxicological investigations.

    The report says Milosevic had serious health problems when he arrived at the ICTY and that he was properly treated during the detention.

    "Proper care was taken by the tribunal in the provision of medical care to Mr. Milosevic during his detention at the UNDU," concludes the report.

    The report accuses Milosevic of non-cooperation with his doctors and taking non-prescribed drugs.

    "On a number of occasions Mr. Milosevic refused to accept the advice of his treating doctors. He refused to take some prescribedmedications and varied prescribed dosages of others.

    "He also self-medicated as evidenced by the finding on occasions of non-prescribed medications in his privileged office and his cell,and the presence of non-prescribed medications in blood tests. Such events occurred at different times throughout his detention, the most recent being Feb. 1, 2006. On occasions herefused to be tested or refused to be hospitalized."

    The report says no conclusion can be drawn on whether surgical intervention could have prevented Milosevic's death, citing different expert opinions on this matter. A Russian doctor had said surgery could have saved Milosevic's life, indicating deficiency in Milosevic's treatment at the UNDU.

    As a lesson drawn from Milosevic's death, the report says the unique arrangements to enable Milosevic to conduct his own defensecompromised the security at the UNDU.

    "Because of these arrangements Mr. Milosevic was able to obtainmedications not prescribed for him by treating doctors at the UNDU."

    It recommends that caution should be exercised in determining arrangements in future cases where a detainee conducts his own defense. Enditem