Lawyer says Milosevic will not receive fair trial

A British barrister has told the UN War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague that former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic will not receive a fair trial because of outside pressures on the tribunal.

Steven Kay, who was appointed to represent Milosevic even though he has refused to co-operate with the tribunal, asked the court to review the former president’s claims that the tribunal is prejudiced against him.

Mr Kay also said that putting Milosevic on trial for actions he undertook as head of state is a violation of the principle of state sovereignty.

"Pressure on this tribunal from external sources makes the whole culture of the tribunal unfair and biased against [Milosevic]," Mr Kay said.

He added that an example of this bias is the court’s order forbidding Milosevic from giving media interviews, while the prosecutors in the trial face no such restrictions.

Mr Kay was appointed as a friend of the court along with two others when Milosevic refused to recognise the legitimacy of the tribunal or enter a plea. The panel of three judges registered innocent pleas on his behalf.

His appearance before the court today was Milosevic’s third to date and was called so the former leader could face new charges of murder and persecution relating to the Croatian war in 1991 and new charges in relation to his crackdown on ethnic Albanian militants in Kosovo in 1999.

He has already been charged with war crimes in Kosovo. Referring to every nation’s right to self-determination, Mr Milosevic has said he was acting to protect his country from terrorism under legal means.