Tests show Milosevic took wrong drugs before death
THE HAGUE, March 13 (Reuters) - Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who had wanted to go to Russia for medical treatment, took drugs that worsened his health before dying in his prison cell, a Dutch medical expert said on Monday.
Groningen University toxicologist Donald Uges told Reuters he thought Milosevic, whose body was released for burial after an autopsy and toxicology tests, had taken the drugs to improve his case for going to Russia, where his wife and son live.
Milosevic, 64, who suffered from a heart condition and high blood pressure and was found dead in bed in his cell on Saturday, faced a possible life sentence in his war crimes trial at the Hague tribunal.
"I don't think he took his medicines for suicide -- only for his trip to Moscow ... that is where his friends and family are. I think that was his last possibility to escape The Hague," Uges said. "I am so sure there is no murder."
Uges said tests he conducted two weeks ago on Milosevic's blood showed traces of rifampicin -- a drug against leprosy and tuberculosis that would have neutralised other medicines.
A preliminary autopsy report on Sunday showed Milosevic died of a heart attack, but toxicology tests were still under way to establish its cause. His lawyer said Milosevic's son Marko would come to take the body to Belgrade for burial.
Milosevic's widow, brother and son all live in Russia. His wife Mira Markovic risks arrest if she returns to Serbia. Last month, the tribunal rejected a request by Milosevic to be allowed to travel to Moscow for specialist medical care.
His lawyer said Milosevic feared he was being poisoned and wrote to Russia the day before he died asking for help.
"The central issue is whether or not Mr. Milosevic was receiving the proper medical treatment," he told journalists.
The man branded the "Butcher of the Balkans" had been on trial for four years on charges on 66 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes involving conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo that tore Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s.
AUTOPSY
The autopsy on Milosevic was conducted by Dutch scientists and attended by Serbian pathologists. Serbia said the autopsy was very professional and the whole procedure was filmed.
A spokeswoman for the U.N. tribunal said it was too early to say whether the heart attack might have been caused by poisoning or whether suicide could be ruled out, and noted that an inquiry ordered by court president Fausto Pocar was continuing.
Former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic committed suicide at the detention centre last week.
Milosevic's lawyer said on Sunday his client had written to Russia asking for help a day before his death as he believed he had been given the wrong drugs -- including some for leprosy and tuberculosis -- in a bid to silence him.
The Russian foreign ministry said on Monday it had received the letter and said Milosevic's brother Borislav, former Yugoslav ambassador to Moscow, had asked a group of Russian doctors to fly to the Hague to take part in the autopsy.
The Dutch pathologists said Milosevic died of a "myocardial infarction" that could be explained by two heart conditions he suffered from, the U.N. tribunal said on Sunday.
A myocardial infarction is usually caused by a blockage in one of the coronary arteries that supplies blood to the heart.
Cardiologists treating Milosevic had warned he was at risk of a hypertensive emergency, when surges in blood pressure can damage the heart, kidneys and central nervous system.
Leo Bokeria, head of the cardiology centre in Moscow where Milosevic had wanted to be treated, told Russia TV he was not convinced that poisoning provoked the heart attack.
"It's unlikely. From what was said the day he died, that he was found lifeless, it looked very much like a very sudden death from heart failure," Bokeria said.
NO STATE BURIAL
Milosevic's widow Mira Markovic visited him at the detention centre until 2003, when she fled Serbia for Russia to avoid arrest on charges of abusing her power.
Serbian prosecutors have rejected a bid by Milosevic's lawyer to drop the warrant against her because of his death.
Serbian President Boris Tadic said Milosevic should not get a state burial and he would not grant an amnesty to Markovic.
A Serbian court dropped all charges against Marko Milosevic last year, a controversial decision made after the main witness against him unexpectedly withdrew evidence that Marko and his thugs had threatened him with a chain-saw.
A Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said the embassy in Moscow had not received a request from Marko for a visa.
Belgrade is under pressure to arrest six remaining war crimes fugitives as it moves towards European Union membership, among them Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic, both accused of genocide.
Apart from a vigil by about 100 elderly supporters, few in Serbia showed emotion over the death of Milosevic, who ruled with an iron grip from 1990 until his overthrow in 2000.
By contrast, hundreds in Belgrade placed wreaths on the grave of reformist President Zoran Djindjic, who ousted Milosevic and who was assassinated three years ago.
Groningen University toxicologist Donald Uges told Reuters he thought Milosevic, whose body was released for burial after an autopsy and toxicology tests, had taken the drugs to improve his case for going to Russia, where his wife and son live.
Milosevic, 64, who suffered from a heart condition and high blood pressure and was found dead in bed in his cell on Saturday, faced a possible life sentence in his war crimes trial at the Hague tribunal.
"I don't think he took his medicines for suicide -- only for his trip to Moscow ... that is where his friends and family are. I think that was his last possibility to escape The Hague," Uges said. "I am so sure there is no murder."
Uges said tests he conducted two weeks ago on Milosevic's blood showed traces of rifampicin -- a drug against leprosy and tuberculosis that would have neutralised other medicines.
A preliminary autopsy report on Sunday showed Milosevic died of a heart attack, but toxicology tests were still under way to establish its cause. His lawyer said Milosevic's son Marko would come to take the body to Belgrade for burial.
Milosevic's widow, brother and son all live in Russia. His wife Mira Markovic risks arrest if she returns to Serbia. Last month, the tribunal rejected a request by Milosevic to be allowed to travel to Moscow for specialist medical care.
His lawyer said Milosevic feared he was being poisoned and wrote to Russia the day before he died asking for help.
"The central issue is whether or not Mr. Milosevic was receiving the proper medical treatment," he told journalists.
The man branded the "Butcher of the Balkans" had been on trial for four years on charges on 66 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes involving conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo that tore Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s.
AUTOPSY
The autopsy on Milosevic was conducted by Dutch scientists and attended by Serbian pathologists. Serbia said the autopsy was very professional and the whole procedure was filmed.
A spokeswoman for the U.N. tribunal said it was too early to say whether the heart attack might have been caused by poisoning or whether suicide could be ruled out, and noted that an inquiry ordered by court president Fausto Pocar was continuing.
Former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic committed suicide at the detention centre last week.
Milosevic's lawyer said on Sunday his client had written to Russia asking for help a day before his death as he believed he had been given the wrong drugs -- including some for leprosy and tuberculosis -- in a bid to silence him.
The Russian foreign ministry said on Monday it had received the letter and said Milosevic's brother Borislav, former Yugoslav ambassador to Moscow, had asked a group of Russian doctors to fly to the Hague to take part in the autopsy.
The Dutch pathologists said Milosevic died of a "myocardial infarction" that could be explained by two heart conditions he suffered from, the U.N. tribunal said on Sunday.
A myocardial infarction is usually caused by a blockage in one of the coronary arteries that supplies blood to the heart.
Cardiologists treating Milosevic had warned he was at risk of a hypertensive emergency, when surges in blood pressure can damage the heart, kidneys and central nervous system.
Leo Bokeria, head of the cardiology centre in Moscow where Milosevic had wanted to be treated, told Russia TV he was not convinced that poisoning provoked the heart attack.
"It's unlikely. From what was said the day he died, that he was found lifeless, it looked very much like a very sudden death from heart failure," Bokeria said.
NO STATE BURIAL
Milosevic's widow Mira Markovic visited him at the detention centre until 2003, when she fled Serbia for Russia to avoid arrest on charges of abusing her power.
Serbian prosecutors have rejected a bid by Milosevic's lawyer to drop the warrant against her because of his death.
Serbian President Boris Tadic said Milosevic should not get a state burial and he would not grant an amnesty to Markovic.
A Serbian court dropped all charges against Marko Milosevic last year, a controversial decision made after the main witness against him unexpectedly withdrew evidence that Marko and his thugs had threatened him with a chain-saw.
A Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said the embassy in Moscow had not received a request from Marko for a visa.
Belgrade is under pressure to arrest six remaining war crimes fugitives as it moves towards European Union membership, among them Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic, both accused of genocide.
Apart from a vigil by about 100 elderly supporters, few in Serbia showed emotion over the death of Milosevic, who ruled with an iron grip from 1990 until his overthrow in 2000.
By contrast, hundreds in Belgrade placed wreaths on the grave of reformist President Zoran Djindjic, who ousted Milosevic and who was assassinated three years ago.
posted by Marko at 3/13/2006 07:15:00 AM
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