Tribunal sacks Dutch Milosevic lawyer
11 October 2002
THE HAGUE — A Dutch lawyer with the United Nations Yugoslavia War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague was discharged on Thursday from his duties in the defence of Slobodan Milosevic.
Mischa Wladimiroff was earlier appointed a "friend of the court" to assist in the defence of Milosevic — who stands accused of war crimes relating to the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s — but public statements made to the press landed him in hot water.
Dutch associated press ANP said the tribunal ruled that Wladimiroff forfeited his impartiality through his media statements and his premature comments on parts of the legal process in which evidence had not yet been submitted.
Wladimiroff was one of three tribunal-appointed friends of the court, who were assigned the task of assisting in the defence of Milosevic and ensuring a fair trial. The former Yugoslavian president had refused to appoint defence counsel.
But Wladimiroff admitted in interviews that Milosevic would be found guilty on several points related to Kosovo evidence. A Bulgarian newspaper quoted him saying that he had "zero" chance of being acquitted.
The UN is not expected to appoint a replacement for the Dutch lawyer.
Belgrade advocate Branislav Tapuskovic and British lawyer Steven Kay will stay on as the two remaining tribunal-appointed defence lawyers.