Dutch probe: Milosevic died of natural causes

UN court hails Dutch probe’s confirmation that Milosevic died of natural causes

The President of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today welcomed the final results of an independent inquest into the death of Slobodan Milosevic by the Dutch authorities, who confirmed that he died of natural causes and ruled out any suggestion of criminal conduct.

“The report, submitted yesterday to the Tribunal from The Hague District Public Prosecutor's Office, formally closes the independent investigation of the Dutch authorities into the death of Slobodan Milosevic who died in the Tribunal’s Detention Unit on 11 March 2006 of a heart attack,” The Hague-based court said in a statement.

A separate probe ordered following the death by Tribunal President Judge Fausto Pocar will focus on issues relating to the medical treatment provided to the former Yugoslav President while in detention, according to the ICTY, which said the internal inquiry “expects to conclude its investigation on these issues shortly.”

Considered one of the prime architects of the heinous atrocities that accompanied the break-up of Yugoslavia, Mr. Milosevic was facing 66 counts of the worst crimes known to man – genocide, crimes against humanity, violations of the laws or customs of war, and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.

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