FREEDOM Association

Member of the World Peace Council

Belgrade, Rajiceva 16, tel./fax +381 11 630 549

Belgrade, July 05, 2004                           M O S T   U R G E N T

                              Mr. Theodor Meron, President

                              Mr. Patrick Robinson, President

                                   of the Trial Chamber III

                              Mr. Hans Holthuis, Registrar

                                   ICTY

                                   The Hague

                                   The Netherlands

                    Cc: H.E. Kofi Annan, Secretary

                                   General of UN and members

                                   of the UN Security Council

                                   New York, USA

     As we have in several occasions before, been warning your predecessors, the actual deterioration of the health of Mr. Slobodan Milosevic, long time President of the Republic of Serbia and of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is a direct and dramatic consequence of the way the process has been conducted and of the fact that you have neglected the recommendations of the physicians appointed by ICTY in order to determine the state of Mr. President’s health.

     Even after numerous warnings that, considering the state of health of President Milosevic, detention conditions, rhythm and conduct of the process can cause his death, you still continue to conduct your political process in the same way. We remind you and warn you once again that eminent Yugoslav and international cardiologists have concluded in their objective and impartial expertises, which got consent of the physicians appointed by you, that the way this political process has been conducted represent a threat to the life of President Milosevic.

     In spite the claim that ICTY is an international court of UN, you in severest way violate the Resolutions and documents of the UN General Assembly, related to health of persons in custody.

     The first principle of the Resolution 3794 on the principles of medical ethics, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 18, 1982, establishes an obligation to protect prisoners or detainees from torture and other cruel, inhumane or humiliating sanctions or behavior. The same Resolution obliges you to secure the medical treatment of the same quality and based on same standards as for the persons who are not in prison or in detention. But in violation to that, you have not provided President Milosevic with medical therapy nor even with medical care of the same quality and based on same standards as for persons who are not in detention. This way you also violate the Article 6 of the Codex of behavior of persons responsible for application of the Law, adopted by UN General Assembly on December 17, 1979.

     In addition to violation of the mentioned Resolutions, you also violate your own Statute, namely its Article 21, point 4b, which obliges you to provide every defendant with appropriate time and facilities for preparation of his defense.

     The astonishing rhythm of this political process, purpose of which is not determination of the truth, but total endangering of the health of President Milosevic, leads us to a conclusion that the fatal outcome is your intention, in order to silence the truth President Milosevic and his witnesses are prepared to present.

     Experience with other persons in detention who faced dramatic deterioration of heath or even loss of life, is also obliging you to decide to allow Slobodan Milosevic to obtain medical therapy and recovery in Belgrade by medical specialists who followed his health condition for years, due to existence of special circumstances and to resume the process after the improvement of his health, as it was done already more than once in other cases before ICTY.

     In the light of the above mentioned, we are particularly worried by the intentions shown up in the today’s “administrative session” of the Trial Chamber III, to use the alarming state of health of President Milosevic as a pretext for further narrowing of his rights. Eventual realization of such intentions would be an appalling example of criminal misconduct.

     We warn you once again that it is your obligation to harmonize your Rules and practices with all UN documents on human rights protection, as well as with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

           President of the Managing Board of the Freedom Association -

           Yugoslav Committee for the Defense of Slobodan Milosevic

                         Bogoljub Bjelica /signed/