Witnesses not forthcoming in war crime trial (Milosevic}

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What a mess ...

Amsterdam - Judges trying Slobodan Milosevic said on Monday they might subpoena witnesses who refuse to testify because they believe the ailing former Yugoslav president should be allowed to defend himself.

Steven Kay, the British lawyer assigned last month to conduct Milosevic's defence, told the UN tribunal he was unable to call a witness on Monday, describing his attempts to get witnesses to The Hague as like a "dance of the seven veils".

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The trial's three judges ruled in September that Milosevic, 63, who suffers from high blood pressure and has a heart condition, was no longer fit enough to conduct his own defence.

But Milosevic, who defended himself for the first 30 months of the marathon trial, has accused the court of trying to gag him and has refused to instruct the court-assigned defence lawyers, meet them or ask follow-up questions in court.

IOL