Temporary release approved by UN tribunal for former Yugoslav army chief

Dragoljub Ojdanic, the former Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, has been granted temporary provisional release on compassionate grounds by the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the worst war crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s.

Mr. Ojdanic, who also served as Defence Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, is on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with five co-defendants for an alleged campaign of terror and violence directed against Kosovo Albanians and other non-Serbs living in Kosovo in 1999.

The Hague-based court grantedthe 18 July to 12 August release subject to strict conditions, including 24-hour electronic surveillance by the Serbian authorities.