Complaints Filed Against Steven Kay and Dr. Van Dijkman
Slobodan Milosevic Freedom Center The Hague [Press Release] - October 13, 2004
The Hague, October 12, 2004 - Slobodan
Milosevic Freedom Center The Hague held its first press conference
today.
It was attended by Nico Varkevisser (spokesman) and Nico Steijnen
(lawyer).
The Milosevic Freedom Center was recently
established due to the absolute need of President Milosevic to have
an organization in The Netherlands to help him with his struggle
against the so-called tribunal it its false indictments.
The need for such an organization is more urgent
now than ever. The tribunal has denied President Milosevic the
fundamental right to lead his own defense. They have imposed a
lawyer, Mr. Steven Kay from the UK on him against his will, and as a consequence Milosevic can no longer speak without the approval of the so-called
judges. The first examinations by Mr. Kay clearly show that the
tribunal's aim is to avoid fundamental issues. His conduct
shows what the tribunal wants: a cosmetic questioning of the
witnesses to give the appearance of a real trial, while leaving
important issues untouched. President Milosevic only has what he
has described during the proceedings as, "scraps of his fundamental rights".
Given the present situation, President
Milosevic needs this organization to inform the media and the public
about what is happening in this so-called trial, and to
expose the lies and distortions about what happened in the former
Yugoslavia.
The Milosevic Freedom Center considers this one
of its major tasks, and seeks close co-operation with the media and
all people who share concern for the violations of justice and truth
at the so-called tribunal. We will provide relevant facts and
documents, in order to make the public aware of the real nature of
this so-called tribunal, and the objectives of its masters. This
material will be made available for the media and the general public
on our website:
http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/hague.htm
On instructions from President Milosevic, the
Milosevic Freedom Center will undertake action in the Dutch and the
international legal courts and institutions to defend his
fundamental rights, and secure his release from prison.
The first step will be against Mr. Steven Kay.
By acting as a lawyer against the will of President Milosevic, he is
violating one the most fundamental principles that lawyers are bound
to: not to represent clients against their will. Nico Steijnen has
filed a complaint before the disciplinary court of the Dutch Bar
Association on President Milosevic's behalf.
Mr. Steijnen argued that there are good
grounds for this complaint to be admitted, given the judgment of the
Dutch Bar Association and the court of
appeals in the case of the former amicus curiae, Wladimirov.
Mr. Wladimirov was rebuked for his statements in the press when
he declared that Milosevic will be condemned, no matter what
happened. The board and the court limited them selves to verbally
rebuking Wladimirov, rather than punishing him, since he did not
appear as the lawyer of Milosevic, but only as amicus curiae.
Steven Kay, on the other hand, is clearly
presenting himself as Milosevic's lawyer. Although he has made a
formal appeal against his own appointment before the Appeal’s
Chamber of the tribunal; in The London Times on September
21 he says: "My duty is to act in his best interests, I will do the
job as best I can."
He also said: "We want to show that we mean
business, so the word goes out to other witnesses that we are here,
and want to call them for the defense. Now I just have to point
myself in the right direction and start moving. It's a very English
phrase, but you just have to get on with it."
Another aspect to be taken into account is the
fact that European lawyers are standardized, meaning that foreign
lawyers operating in the Netherlands are bound to the regulations of
the Dutch Bar Association. Since the tribunal is not acting on extra
territorial ground, but on Dutch soil, Kay is bound by the rules of
the Dutch Bar Association.
President Milosevic has also filed a complaint
before the Dutch medical disciplinary board against Dr. Van Dijkman,
a physician who was appointed by the so-called tribunal to
examine him. In his report van Dijkman writes: "Milosevic is not
able to lead his own defense".
That is an astonishing assessment. As a doctor
he can express an opinion about the physical condition of President
Milosevic, but not that he is unable lead his own defense.
The decision to impose a lawyer on President
Milosevic was based on a medical examination in July of this year.
Milosevic’s request for a new examination by doctors of his own
choice, from Greece, Serbia and Russia, was denied by the tribunal.
Rumors about imposing a lawyer on Milosevic started immediately
after a visit to the tribunal by former US Secretary of State,
Madeleine Albright.
It is expected that the disciplinary boards will
need several months to come to a conclusion.
Related Legal Documents:
1.
Complaint Files Against Mr. Kay with Dutch Bar
(Document in Dutch language)
2.
Complaint Filed Against Dr. Van
Dijkman with Dutch Medical Disciplinary Board (Document in Dutch
language)
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