Death of Slobodan Miloševic
Encyclopedia
On 11 March 2006, former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević
died in his cell, apparently from a heart attack
, while being tried for war crimes at the ICTY
in The Hague
, which was a major political event, especially for Serbia
and Russia
. Milošević died a few months before the verdict was due for his four-year trial. It is a subject of heated discussions whether the death was provoked deliberately and who, if anyone, is responsible for it. It occurred shortly after the Tribunal denied his request to seek specialized medical treatment at a cardiology clinic in Russia.
. An official in the chief prosecutor's office said that Milošević had been found at about 10 a.m. and had apparently been dead for several hours. His trial had been due to resume on 14 March with testimony from the former president of Montenegro
, Momir Bulatović
. A request for the autopsy in the presence of a Serbian pathologist was granted, and his body was transported to the Dutch Forensic Institute.
It was established that Milošević died of a heart attack. Suspicions have been voiced:
As both the prosecution and the defence had generally evaluated the trial as a legal and/or moral defeat for the opposite side, and as this conviction was widely shared by their respective sympathizers, both sides believed or claimed to believe that Milošević's death had been in the interest of their opponents, hence the mutual accusations. Milošević had been suffering from heart problems and high blood pressure
. Initially, the Dutch coroner failed to establish the cause of his death. Consequently, the president of the ICTY
ordered an autopsy and a toxicological investigation. Immediately after his death was announced, rumours that Milošević had been poisoned started circulating.
, the scientific term for a heart attack. The Tribunal warned it was impossible to rule out poisoning at the time of their statement, as the toxicological tests had not yet been completed. The Tribunal had denied Milošević's request for travel to Russia for specialist medical treatment. He planned to appeal against this decision, saying that his condition was worsening. Shortly before his death, Milošević complained about wrong medical treatment to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
. The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that it received the letter from Milošević with his medical complaints. In the letter as provided by Milošević's lawyer Zdenko Tomanović, Milošević complained that he was being given a drug used against tuberculosis and leprosy and that even though the medical report containing that information dated from 12 January, he had only received it two months later. The same was reported later by former pro-Milošević Montenegrin President
Momir Bulatović
, who was due to testify for Milošević's defence. According to Bulatović, Milošević had stopped taking the drug and consequently was afraid of being poisoned. In his letter, Milošević motivated his desire to be treated in Russia, an unusual destination for treatment for heart disease, saying that "those who foist on me a drug against leprosy... and who have an interest to silence me" "surely can't treat my illness".
Lawyer Zdenko Tomanović told reporters that his client had feared Milošević was being poisoned and cited the aforementioned letter, as well as the medical report two months before his death, according to which Milošević's blood contained rifampicin
- a drug that is normally used to treat leprosy
and tuberculosis
and which would have neutralized
some of the effects of Milošević's medicines for his high blood pressure and heart condition. Tomanović said he had made a formal request for the autopsy to take place in Moscow. The Tribunal rejected the request, allowing instead a pathologist from Serbia to attend the autopsy. In his statement, Tomanović said, "I demanded protection for Slobodan Milošević over his claims that he was being poisoned. I still haven't received any reply and that's all I have to say at this time."
and son Marko were still living in exile. Likewise, sources at the Tribunal stated that Milošević had regular access to unprescribed drugs that were smuggled into his cell under a lax prison regime. Timothy McFadden, the prison governor responsible for Milošević, is reported to have complained, in vain, in December and January that he could no longer monitor drugs taken by the former leader. Milošević had the key to his own office, which had a fax machine, a computer and a telephone, and access to a private "comfort room" for visits by his widow.
were found in an earlier 12 January blood test. However, Pocar said that there are no traces of the drug were found by the time of Milošević's death. According to The Hague, district public prosecutor Moraal, referring to the NFI/Dutch Forensic Institute, "rifampicin disappears from the body quickly, and the fact that no traces were found implies only that it is not likely that rifampicin had been ingested or administered in the last few days before death".
Leo Bokeria, Director of Moscow's Bakulev Heart Surgery Center, confirmed that Milošević had died of a heart attack, but said adequate treatment in Moscow or in any one of many countries, including the Netherlands, would have rescued him. According to Bokeria, the necessary medical procedures (coronary angiography and stent
ing) were "elementary". Bokeria said he saw "nothing showing signs of suicide", but there remained questions over whether Milošević received adequate care while standing trial at the U.N. tribunal. "If the patient had been investigated enough...he would have still been alive today". Bokeria also claimed that the center had sent Pocar a letter informing him that Milošević needed hospital treatment and naming several countries beside Russia where that could be done.
The Times medical columnist Thomas Stuttaford
commented that, taking into account what had been known about Milošević's health condition for years, he was "surprised that he (Milošević) lived for as long as he did". According to Stuttaford, given the data that existed, Milošević should have been considered for a coronary bypass or angioplasty
; while these operations might be rendered impossible by severe heart defects, that can only be established by a careful analysis of the heart, and one would have thought that if this had been done, someone would have mentioned it. According to Stuttaford, using rifampicin might have been a cunning way to kill a man that needs no expertise.
deplored Milošević's death, saying that it had "deprived victims of justice". Concerning its causes, she concluded that suicide could not be ruled out and declined to comment on speculation that Milošević may have been poisoned. In an interview with the Rome newspaper, La Repubblica
, Del Ponte stated:
said that "Milošević did not die in The Hague, he was killed in The Hague". President
Boris Tadić
, who was an opponent of Milošević and the Socialist Party, said that in his opinion the U.N. war crimes tribunal was responsible for Milošević's death, but he added that it would not hamper Serbia's future cooperation with the court. In Russia, criticisms were slightly milder. Foreign Ministry and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
both criticized the decision of the Tribunal not to allow Milošević treatment in Russia. The Russian Duma condemned the activities of the Hague Tribunal and called for its disbanding. Vice-speaker of the Russian State Duma
Lyubov Sliska
expressed the same opinion in an interview.
. Nevertheless, a farewell ceremony was organised by the Socialist Party outside the federal parliament in Belgrade
. About 50,000 of Milošević's supporters attended the ceremony, which turned into a mass demonstration, with a succession of fiery speeches by prominent supporters. Afterwards, Milošević's coffin was taken to his hometown for burial in the backyard of his family home. Milošević's family and close friends pulled out of his funeral, citing anonymous threats and contradictory statements from Serbian authorities regarding the requested guarantees that they would not be arrested. Milošević's daughter Mirjana stated that the Socialist Party had hijacked the funeral for political ends.
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
died in his cell, apparently from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, while being tried for war crimes at the ICTY
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, which was a major political event, especially for Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Milošević died a few months before the verdict was due for his four-year trial. It is a subject of heated discussions whether the death was provoked deliberately and who, if anyone, is responsible for it. It occurred shortly after the Tribunal denied his request to seek specialized medical treatment at a cardiology clinic in Russia.
Establishment of death
Milošević was found dead in his cell on 11 March 2006 in the UN war crimes tribunal's detention centre in the Scheveningen section of The HagueThe Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. An official in the chief prosecutor's office said that Milošević had been found at about 10 a.m. and had apparently been dead for several hours. His trial had been due to resume on 14 March with testimony from the former president of Montenegro
President of Montenegro
-Presidents of Montenegro:-See also:*President of Serbia and Montenegro*President of Yugoslavia*List of Presidents of Montenegro*Prime Minister of Montenegro-External links:*...
, Momir Bulatović
Momir Bulatovic
Momir Bulatović , formerly served as a Yugoslavian and Montenegrin politician. Bulatović became federal President of Montenegro while Montenegro was part of a Yugoslav federation, and also Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
. A request for the autopsy in the presence of a Serbian pathologist was granted, and his body was transported to the Dutch Forensic Institute.
It was established that Milošević died of a heart attack. Suspicions have been voiced:
- that he was deliberately given a wrong medicine that caused the heart attack;
- that he took a wrong medicine himself in order to worsen his condition or commit suicide;
- that he was, deliberately or through negligence, not given the standard treatment that would have prevented the heart attack.
As both the prosecution and the defence had generally evaluated the trial as a legal and/or moral defeat for the opposite side, and as this conviction was widely shared by their respective sympathizers, both sides believed or claimed to believe that Milošević's death had been in the interest of their opponents, hence the mutual accusations. Milošević had been suffering from heart problems and high blood pressure
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
. Initially, the Dutch coroner failed to establish the cause of his death. Consequently, the president of the ICTY
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
ordered an autopsy and a toxicological investigation. Immediately after his death was announced, rumours that Milošević had been poisoned started circulating.
12 March
An autopsy was held in the Netherlands; its preliminary results showed that Milošević had died of myocardial infarctionMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, the scientific term for a heart attack. The Tribunal warned it was impossible to rule out poisoning at the time of their statement, as the toxicological tests had not yet been completed. The Tribunal had denied Milošević's request for travel to Russia for specialist medical treatment. He planned to appeal against this decision, saying that his condition was worsening. Shortly before his death, Milošević complained about wrong medical treatment to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Sergey Lavrov
Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov is the Foreign Minister of Russia. Prior to that, Lavrov was a Soviet diplomat and Russia's ambassador to the United Nations from 1994 to 2004. Lavrov speaks Russian, English, French and Sinhala....
. The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that it received the letter from Milošević with his medical complaints. In the letter as provided by Milošević's lawyer Zdenko Tomanović, Milošević complained that he was being given a drug used against tuberculosis and leprosy and that even though the medical report containing that information dated from 12 January, he had only received it two months later. The same was reported later by former pro-Milošević Montenegrin President
President of Montenegro
-Presidents of Montenegro:-See also:*President of Serbia and Montenegro*President of Yugoslavia*List of Presidents of Montenegro*Prime Minister of Montenegro-External links:*...
Momir Bulatović
Momir Bulatovic
Momir Bulatović , formerly served as a Yugoslavian and Montenegrin politician. Bulatović became federal President of Montenegro while Montenegro was part of a Yugoslav federation, and also Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
, who was due to testify for Milošević's defence. According to Bulatović, Milošević had stopped taking the drug and consequently was afraid of being poisoned. In his letter, Milošević motivated his desire to be treated in Russia, an unusual destination for treatment for heart disease, saying that "those who foist on me a drug against leprosy... and who have an interest to silence me" "surely can't treat my illness".
Lawyer Zdenko Tomanović told reporters that his client had feared Milošević was being poisoned and cited the aforementioned letter, as well as the medical report two months before his death, according to which Milošević's blood contained rifampicin
Rifampicin
Rifampicin or rifampin is a bactericidal antibiotic drug of the rifamycin group. It is a semisynthetic compound derived from Amycolatopsis rifamycinica ...
- a drug that is normally used to treat leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
and tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and which would have neutralized
Drug interaction
A drug interaction is a situation in which a substance affects the activity of a drug, i.e. the effects are increased or decreased, or they produce a new effect that neither produces on its own. Typically, interaction between drugs come to mind...
some of the effects of Milošević's medicines for his high blood pressure and heart condition. Tomanović said he had made a formal request for the autopsy to take place in Moscow. The Tribunal rejected the request, allowing instead a pathologist from Serbia to attend the autopsy. In his statement, Tomanović said, "I demanded protection for Slobodan Milošević over his claims that he was being poisoned. I still haven't received any reply and that's all I have to say at this time."
13 March
Dutch toxicologist Donald Uges confirmed that the drug had been found in Milošević's blood and suggested that he may have deliberately taken these drugs in order to get out of jail and seek medical treatment in Russia, where Milošević's widow Mirjana MarkovićMirjana Markovic
Mirjana "Mira" Marković is the leader of the Yugoslav Left political party and the widow and childhood friend of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević.-Personal life:...
and son Marko were still living in exile. Likewise, sources at the Tribunal stated that Milošević had regular access to unprescribed drugs that were smuggled into his cell under a lax prison regime. Timothy McFadden, the prison governor responsible for Milošević, is reported to have complained, in vain, in December and January that he could no longer monitor drugs taken by the former leader. Milošević had the key to his own office, which had a fax machine, a computer and a telephone, and access to a private "comfort room" for visits by his widow.
17 March
The Tribunal confirmed that preliminary results of blood tests showed no indication that Milošević's death by heart attack was caused by poisoning. Judge Fausto Pocar, president of the UN war crimes tribunal, told a news conference: "So far no indications of poisoning have been found. I would like to stress that these are provisional results." Tribunal registrar Hans Holthuis confirmed that traces of rifampicinRifampicin
Rifampicin or rifampin is a bactericidal antibiotic drug of the rifamycin group. It is a semisynthetic compound derived from Amycolatopsis rifamycinica ...
were found in an earlier 12 January blood test. However, Pocar said that there are no traces of the drug were found by the time of Milošević's death. According to The Hague, district public prosecutor Moraal, referring to the NFI/Dutch Forensic Institute, "rifampicin disappears from the body quickly, and the fact that no traces were found implies only that it is not likely that rifampicin had been ingested or administered in the last few days before death".
Leo Bokeria, Director of Moscow's Bakulev Heart Surgery Center, confirmed that Milošević had died of a heart attack, but said adequate treatment in Moscow or in any one of many countries, including the Netherlands, would have rescued him. According to Bokeria, the necessary medical procedures (coronary angiography and stent
Stent
In the technical vocabulary of medicine, a stent is an artificial 'tube' inserted into a natural passage/conduit in the body to prevent, or counteract, a disease-induced, localized flow constriction. The term may also refer to a tube used to temporarily hold such a natural conduit open to allow...
ing) were "elementary". Bokeria said he saw "nothing showing signs of suicide", but there remained questions over whether Milošević received adequate care while standing trial at the U.N. tribunal. "If the patient had been investigated enough...he would have still been alive today". Bokeria also claimed that the center had sent Pocar a letter informing him that Milošević needed hospital treatment and naming several countries beside Russia where that could be done.
The Times medical columnist Thomas Stuttaford
Thomas Stuttaford
Dr Irving Thomas Stuttaford OBE, is a British doctor, author, medical columnist of The Times and former Conservative Member of Parliament. In 2002 he retired as Senior Medical Advisor for Barclays Bank.-Politics:...
commented that, taking into account what had been known about Milošević's health condition for years, he was "surprised that he (Milošević) lived for as long as he did". According to Stuttaford, given the data that existed, Milošević should have been considered for a coronary bypass or angioplasty
Angioplasty
Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel, the latter typically being a result of atherosclerosis. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire, known as a balloon catheter, is passed into the narrowed locations and then inflated to a fixed size...
; while these operations might be rendered impossible by severe heart defects, that can only be established by a careful analysis of the heart, and one would have thought that if this had been done, someone would have mentioned it. According to Stuttaford, using rifampicin might have been a cunning way to kill a man that needs no expertise.
5 April
The conclusions of the Dutch investigation into Milošević's death were announced. Investigators declared Milošević died of natural causes, and final toxicological studies had confirmed there were no traces of poisoning or substances which could have triggered the heart attack. The prosecutors also announced that although non-prescribed medicines had been found in Milošević's cell three months earlier, no such medicines were found in his cell the day after he died. The president of the UN Yugoslav war crimes tribunal welcomed the final report that formally closed the Dutch investigation, but he said the Tribunal will continue to investigate the medical treatment Milošević received while in detention.ICTY
ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del PonteCarla Del Ponte
Carla Del Ponte is a former Chief Prosecutor of two United Nations international criminal law tribunals. A former Swiss attorney general, she was appointed prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in August...
deplored Milošević's death, saying that it had "deprived victims of justice". Concerning its causes, she concluded that suicide could not be ruled out and declined to comment on speculation that Milošević may have been poisoned. In an interview with the Rome newspaper, La Repubblica
La Repubblica
la Repubblica is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. Founded in 1976 in Rome by the journalist Eugenio Scalfari, as of 2008 is the second largest circulation newspaper, behind the Corriere della Sera.-Foundation:...
, Del Ponte stated:
Serbia and Russia
In Serbia, tens of thousands of Milošević's supporters criticized the Tribunal for allegedly being more or less responsible for his death. Members of his Socialist Party advisors were particularly harsh - for example, senior official Ivica DačićIvica Dacic
Ivica Dačić is a Serbian politician. He is the leader of Socialist Party of Serbia and is First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Internal Affairs....
said that "Milošević did not die in The Hague, he was killed in The Hague". President
President of Serbia
The President of Serbia is the head of state of Serbia. Presently serving as the head of state is Boris Tadić. He was elected with a narrow majority of 50.31% in the 2008 Serbian presidential elections.-Authority, legal and constitutional rights:...
Boris Tadić
Boris Tadic
Boris Tadić is the President of Serbia and leader of the Democratic Party. He was elected to a five-year term on 27 June 2004, and was sworn into office on 11 July. He was re-elected for a de facto second five-year term on 3 February 2008 and was sworn in on 15 February...
, who was an opponent of Milošević and the Socialist Party, said that in his opinion the U.N. war crimes tribunal was responsible for Milošević's death, but he added that it would not hamper Serbia's future cooperation with the court. In Russia, criticisms were slightly milder. Foreign Ministry and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
both criticized the decision of the Tribunal not to allow Milošević treatment in Russia. The Russian Duma condemned the activities of the Hague Tribunal and called for its disbanding. Vice-speaker of the Russian State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
Lyubov Sliska
Lyubov Sliska
Lyubov Konstantinovna Sliska is a Russian politician.Since January 2000, she has been a deputy of the State Duma and a First Deputy Speaker of it ....
expressed the same opinion in an interview.
Funeral and burial
There was a strong controversy across Serbia regarding on Milošević's funeral, as the Socialist Party and nationalist leaders demanded that it should be state-sponsored and high-profile. In particular, it was argued that Milošević ought to have a prominent resting place in the "Alley of the Greats," where other Serbian leaders are buried, which the Tribunal rejected such requests. As a result, the Socialist Party threatened to withdraw its support, which was essential for the ruling coalition. Finally, the Tribunal decided that Milošević should have a private burial in his hometown, PožarevacPožarevac
Požarevac is a city and municipality in eastern Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Braničevo District of Serbia...
. Nevertheless, a farewell ceremony was organised by the Socialist Party outside the federal parliament in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. About 50,000 of Milošević's supporters attended the ceremony, which turned into a mass demonstration, with a succession of fiery speeches by prominent supporters. Afterwards, Milošević's coffin was taken to his hometown for burial in the backyard of his family home. Milošević's family and close friends pulled out of his funeral, citing anonymous threats and contradictory statements from Serbian authorities regarding the requested guarantees that they would not be arrested. Milošević's daughter Mirjana stated that the Socialist Party had hijacked the funeral for political ends.