Milosevic too tired to appear in court

The pressures of defending himself against scores of war crimes charges took its toll on Slobodan Milosevic today, and he was too tired to appear in court.

The former Yugoslav president’s condition raised serious doubts about whether the trial in The Hague can be concluded as planned.

Milosevic, 61, required medical treatment at the UN detention centre near the Netherlands court and his trial was adjourned until Monday.

“In light of the state of the accused’s health and the complexity of the case, the trial chamber is concerned about the completion of the trial,” said presiding British judge Richard May during a brief court session without Milosevic.

May asked the prosecution and the “friends of the court” assigned to ensure a fair trial for Milosevic to submit proposals for speeding up the proceedings, which appear likely to go on for two years.

A spokesman for the UN tribunal clarified that the three judges were not worried that the trial might be in jeopardy, but were concerned about repeated delays and the strain on Milosevic.

“The judges are only concerned about the obvious stress placed on all parties, including the accused himself,” said spokesman Jim Landale. “They want to hear from the parties what could be done to reduce that stress.”

Milosevic’s legal adviser Dragoslav Ognjanovic said the former president began feeling ill last night as a result of “the intensity and rhythm of the trial”.

“His blood pressure is higher than usual,” Ognjanovic said, “which is the only reason he did not appear in court Friday.” Landale said the defendant was expected to recover and appear in court on Monday.

The first head of state to stand trial for genocide, Milosevic is defending himself against a total of 66 counts of war crimes committed during the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s and in Kosovo in 1999.