THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC’S DEATH
www.slobodan-milosevic.org – March 11, 2006

Written by: Andy Wilcoxson

On several occasions prior to his death Milosevic, who suffered from high blood pressure and a heart condition, complained of severe headaches, intense pressure behind his eyes and ears, and ringing in his ears.

In late November 2005 doctors from the Bakulev Medical Center in Moscow traveled to The Hague and examined him. They determined that his condition could be treated, but only if they could administer treatment at their facility in Moscow.

On December 12, 2005 Milosevic asked the tribunal to allow him to receive medical treatment at the Bakulev Medical Center in Moscow.

The tribunal denied his request. They told him that the request was not made properly, and would not be considered unless they received guarantees that he would return to complete his trial.

On January 18, 2006 the Russian Government gave guarantees that Milosevic would be returned to The Hague to complete his trial if he were allowed to be given medical treatment in Moscow.

In spite of the guarantees of the Russian Government, and in spite of Milosevic’s own guarantee that he would return, on February 23, 2006 the trial chamber handed down a ruling denying Milosevic’s request to receive medical treatment in Moscow.

On February 24, 2006 Milosevic announced that he would appeal the tribunal’s decision.

Unfortunately, he did not live long enough to bring the issue before the appeals chamber. On March 11, 2006, Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his cell at the UN Detention Unit in The Hague.

Responsibility for President Milosevic’s death can most likely be attributed to Mr. Patrick Robinson, Mr. O-Gon Kwon, and Mr. Iain Bonomy. If they had they not prevented him from receiving the medical treatment he needed, then he would probably still be alive.

It was a generally known fact that Milosevic could die without proper medical treatment. In the February 24th trial report I warned that “Denying Milosevic the medical treatment he needs could kill him.”

Reacting to the tribunal’s decision in a February 24th interview to the Moscow-based Ekho Moskvy Radio, Milosevic’s brother Borislav said, “I do not know whether or not they will poison him but I do not rule this out altogether. I do not rule out that he might be even secretly liquidated. As far as his medical treatment is concerned, their moves do not give any grounds to believe that he is being treated in a fair and humane way. Their decision is negative. Incidentally, as I see the reasons behind the decision, I believe that it is not just inhumane, it simply violates human rights. At issue is an ailing man, a man aged 65. Despite the immaculate validity of the various components of this appeal, of this request, they turned it down.”

Kwon, Bonomy, and Robinson knew that denying Milosevic medical treatment could cost him his life. Armed with that knowledge, they made a conscious decision that denied him the opportunity to receive the medical treatment he needed -- and now he’s dead.

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