Hague trial of Serbia's Milutinovic ends

29/08/2008

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands -- The trial of former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and five co-defendants charged with crimes in Kosovo in 1999 ended before the UN war crimes tribunal Wednesday (August 27th), media reported on Thursday. Presiding Judge Ian Bonomy announced that a verdict will be reached "as soon as possible". Milutinovic and his co-defendants are charged with forced displacement, deportations, murders, and persecution of Kosovo Albanians in the first half of 1999. The co-defendants include former Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic and generals Dragoljub Ojdanic, Nebojsa Pavkovic, Vladimir Lazarevic and Sreten Lukic. The trial, which began just over two years ago, included well over 200 witnesses.

In other news, Serbian war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said on Thursday he expects Bosnian Serb army wartime commander Ratko Mladic to be arrested shortly. In an interview with AP, Vukcevic said he believes Mladic is hiding in Serbia and likely has not altered his appearance, as former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic did. According to the prosecutor, Mladic and Karadzic have "completely different personalities". Both are charged with genocide. (B92, Beta, EMportal, AP - 28/08/08)