UN war crimes tribunal approves temporary release of former Serbian president

Former Serbian president Milan Milutinović has been granted temporary release by the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the worst war crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s so that he can return to his homeland to undergo a medical procedure.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which sits in The Hague, announced today that Mr. Milutinović’s temporary release – starting today and ending on 2 October – is subject to a series of strict conditions, including 24-hour electronic surveillance by Serbian authorities while on trial.

Mr. Milutinović, who served as Serbian president between 1997 and 2002, is currently on trial with five other men over an alleged campaign of terror and violence against non-Serbs living in Kosovo in 1999.

Together with Nebojša Pavković, Nikola Šainović, Dragoljub Ojdanić, Vladimir Lazarević and Sreten Lukić, Mr. Milutinović is charged with deportation, forcible transfer, murder and persecutions of thousands of Kosovo Albanians and other non-Serbs.

The trial of the six men began in mid-2006 and closing arguments were held late last month.