SLOBO IN WONDERLAND

Milosevic trial faces yet another hurdle (Marlise Simons, International Herald Tribune, September 13th, 2004)

Just days after judges assigned two British lawyers to defend Slobodan Milosevic, his war crimes trial ran into new difficulties as scheduled witnesses pulled out in protest, threatening to unravel the proceedings.

Close to 200 witnesses expected to appear to defend the former Yugoslav president have sent notice to the court or to Milosevic's aides that they will not come to the tribunal in The Hague, according to the aides.

As a result, Monday's hearing has been canceled and the court is attempting to reschedule other hearings planned for the coming weeks.

Zdenko Tomanovic, one of the aides, said Milosevic was not stopping the witnesses - the first two appeared last week - but the witnesses themselves had objected after the court ruled that Milosevic could not serve as his own lawyer and needed help. [...]

Over strenuous protests from Milosevic, the judges in charge of the case appointed two British lawyers on Sept. 3 after cardiologists had concurred that Milosevic was not fit enough to bear the strain of defending himself. The trial, involving multiple war crimes charges, has been interrupted more than a dozen times due to Milosevic's heart problems. The date of his defense, which was scheduled to begin in June, has been changed five times and delayed by three months.

In recent days, the three judges in charge of the trial repeatedly urged Milosevic to participate in his defense and ask follow-up questions when the court-appointed lawyer, Steven Kay, was finished. The former Serb leader refused, saying he would not "act as Mr. Kay's assistant." He insisted every time that he wanted his right to defend himself restored and would appeal.

Now, in a new twist in the complex trial, the court-appointed lawyers have taken the first step to appeal, following Milosevic's wishes. This puts the new defense team in the peculiar position of appealing against its own presence. Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins, as the lawyers are called, are objecting to the role played by Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins.