Milosevic died of natural causes: ICTY report News
Milosevic died of natural causes: ICTY report

[JURIST] Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] died of natural causes on March 11 when guards found him dead in his prison cell [JURIST report] at the detention center for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website], and was not poisoned as some had speculated, according to the ICTY's final report [PDF] released Wednesday. Security breaches resulting from accommodations for Milosevic to defend himself, such as a private office with a telephone and computer, however, did allow Milosevic to self-medicate, leaving the question open of whether he deliberately exacerbated his heart problems by hoarding his medication and then taking too much of in hopes that officials would allow him to seek medical care in Russia [JURIST report].

Autopsy results released in March showed "no indications" that Milosevic had been poisoned [JURIST report] and Dutch investigators found similar results [JURIST report] in their independent probe last month into Milosevic's death at the Scheveningen detention unit [BBC backgrounder]. A team of Swedish investigators completed an independent audit [text; JURIST report] of the Scheveningen facility earlier this month. The auditors expressed concern that ICTY administrative orders, such as allowing a detainee to conduct his own defense, often complicate the enforcement of prison rules and recommended increased coordination between the court and prison officials. Reuters has more.

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