MILOSEVIC'S SERBIAN LAWYER SAYS CLIENT TO
ENTER POLITICAL DEFENCE
BKTV (Transcript) - September 2, 2004
(Presenter) Our well-known lawyer Mr Toma Fila is with us today. Mr Fila, what
do you think about today's decision by the Hague tribunal to impose defence
lawyers on (former Yugoslav President Slobodan) Milosevic?
(Fila) This is the first time in the history of the tribunal that its statute
has been violated. The statute was passed by the UN Security Council. They have
been bending rules to their needs so far, applying regulations retroactively,
denying certain rights to the defence, but this is the first time that the
statute has been violated, and in the middle of proceedings.
The right is guaranteed to everyone there to defence - someone can either defend
himself or get an expert defence lawyer.
This is not a new decision, and it has not come as a surprise to anyone. It was
being prepared for a long time, primarily due to president, excuse me, former
President Milosevic's poor health. Another thing is that doctors said that he
had been refusing to take his pills. That is a bare-faced lie. It is because of
him that all the (the Hague tribunal detention unit) Scheveningen inmates have
to take their pills in the guards' presence. That is humiliating - when you have
a headache, they put an aspirin into your mouth, give you a glass of water and
then they wait for you to swallow it. So, even if Milosevic wanted to do that,
he still could not avoid taking his pills. And then again, if someone is not
feeling well, you adjourn sessions or improve the conditions he is in (as
heard).
Something else is behind this. In my opinion, it is clear that the tribunal is
going down. They are constantly depriving defence lawyers of their rights,
starting from money, which is more or less without importance, at least in my
case, and they are always saying that the UN have ordered them to save money.
They are also sacking people. You can see that the most competent cadres are
leaving. (The Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor) Mrs Carla Del Ponte's first
deputy, (Graham) Blewitt, has been replaced by a tribunal administration
officer, who has so far monitored how we (defence lawyers) spend our money and
asked to see the documents we use in our defence, which is also absurd.
(Presenter) You have defended Milosevic before a domestic court.
(Fila) I am still defending him.
(Presenter) Do you expect him to defend himself through political speeches or do
you expect to see some legal arguments? Is the prosecution sensing that his
defence will be of political nature (interrupted)?
(Fila) You see, he is consistent in his defence. He has never recognized the
tribunal (interrupted).
(Presenter) Is his defence political or legal?
(Fila) Political. He does not want to play by their rules. If he did that, he
would make a mistake. He would lose the world's sympathy for being a victim, as
he presents himself (interrupted).
(Presenter) So, we will hear no legal arguments?
(Fila) No. Never. Not from him. But then another, very important issue, arises -
if he does submit an appeal, then he will in a way recognize the tribunal. He
has not submitted a single petition to the court ever.
(Passage omitted by BBC)
(Presenter) What do you expect to see from here on? Let us say that Milosevic is
well, he enters the courtroom, the defence lawyers imposed on him are there -
who gets to speak?
(Fila) Milosevic. Well, you know, that is the sword of Damocles in this case.
They want to thereby force him into feeling well. On one hand, they will exhaust
him through prolonging the duration of the trial, and on the other - they will
tell him that there are lawyers who will speak on his behalf if he does not take
care of his health.
(Presenter) But, when he is present, it is him who talks?
(Fila) Yes, it is. For the time being, that is how it is, unless something
changes, because we have not seen what authorizations (one of the imposed
lawyers) Stephen Kay has.
(Passage omitted by BBC)
Source: BKTV, Belgrade, in Serbian 1355 gmt 2 Sep 04
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