Final results of inquest into the death of Slobodan Milosevic, The Hague District Public Prosecutor's Office, April 5, 2006 [concluding that Milosevic died a natural death in detention at the facilities of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and that there are no indications that the death resulted from crime].

Excerpt:

The public prosecutor's department in The Hague has closed the investigation into the death of Mr. Milosevic. The public prosecutor has come to the conclusion that Mr. Milosevic died a natural death and that there are no indications that the death resulted from crime.

Mr. Milosevic was found motionless on his bed in his cell on Saturday, March 11, 2006 in the morning at around 10 a.m. Already earlier, at around 9.00 a.m., guards had knocked on the door. They assumed that he did not react to the wake-up call because he was asleep and only entered his cell at 10.00 a.m. At 10.30 a.m. a physician of the Penitentiary Institution of the United Nations established his death, after which the medical examiner was called in at the request of the Tribunal. Because the cause of death did not immediately become clear, the medical examiner did not issue a statement of a natural death. The time of the decease is, according to the report of the medical examiner, presumably March 11 at around 7.45 a.m., but in any case between 7 and 9 a.m.

The body was seized by the public prosecutor in order to perform a judicial autopsy and was transferred to the Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI). At the request of the Tribunal they waited half a day so that two Serbian pathologists could be present during the autopsy on March 12. The NFI invited a Belgian pathologist to attend the autopsy as an observer. A request was received on Sunday, March 12 from the side of Milosevic's family to allow a Russian physician to be present during the autopsy. In view of the time passed from the moment of the decease, however, this turned out not to be possible anymore.

Russian pathologists have been given the opportunity at a later time (March 14) to view the photographs of the autopsy and to study the preliminary autopsy report. Neither the Russian and Serbian pathologists nor the family have commented on the results of the autopsy. During the autopsy extra samples were taken in case a possible counter examination would have to be made.

In conformance with the earlier mentioned preliminary findings, the NFI has now definitely come to the conclusion that the cause of death was cardiac arrest. During the autopsy serious heart diseases were diagnosed which have caused the cardiac arrest. There were no signs of external violence.

Information from the Tribunal has shown that in December 2005 medicines, which had not been prescribed, were found in the cell of Mr. Milosevic

Also various blood tests (lastly in January 2006) had shown the use of non-prescribed medicines, among which the substance Rifampicine. Moreover, his lawyer had informed the police that Mr. Milosevic had the suspicion that he was being poisoned. Therefore the public prosecutor ordered a toxicologic examination to be made and demanded a search of the cell of Mr. Milosevic. On Sunday night, March 12, the cell of Mr. Milosevic was searched under the supervision of the examining magistrate. No other medicines were found than the prescribed medicines and neither were any other contraband goods found.

The toxicologic examination into the cause of death has now been completed. No indications were found that showed poisoning and neither were toxicologic factors found that might have provoked a cardiac arrest. A number of the medicines prescribed to Mr. Milosevic were found in the body material, however, not in toxic concentrations. No traces were found of medicines that had not been prescribed. The NFI furthermore has concluded that it is not likely that rifampicine had been taken or administered several days prior to the decease.

In order to guarantee the quality of the examination, the Dutch Forensic Institute requested the independent German Institut für Gerichtsmedizin in Bonn to again perform the examination. This institute has reached the same conclusions as the NFI did. To perform a random shadow examination is a normal part of the quality system of the NFI.

On Monday, March 13 the body has been released and it was claimed by the family on Tuesday, March 14.

The authority for the Dutch public prosecutor's office to act in this matter can be found in articles V and VI of the agreement between the United Nations (UN) and The Netherlands about the seat of the Yugoslavia tribunal in The Hague entered into in 1994 (Headquarters Agreement'). The main rule is that the legislation of the host country (The Netherlands) remains to be applicable in the field of the tribunal. Connected to this are the Rules of Detention of the tribunal that have been in force as from August 1, 1994. Article 33 of these Rules of Detention says that in case of the decease of a detainee, an official examination will be performed in conformance with the requirements imposed by the Dutch legislation on such an examination.

Read the full text of the Public Prosecutor's Office press release [PDF] on the inquest results.