Milosevic took 'wrong drugs'

A Dutch toxicologist who examined blood samples from former Serb and Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic before his death, found traces of medication which may have prevented his heart medication from working.

Mr Milosevic was found dead in his cell at the UN detention centre in The Hague on Saturday, where he had been on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo in the 1990s.

An autopsy revealed that the 64-year-old, who had suffered from a heart condition and high blood pressure, had died from a heart attack. A full toxicology report is awaited.

However, Dutch toxicologist Professor Donald Uges, said that analysis of Mr Milosevic's blood two weeks ago found traces of a non-prescribed medication called Rifampicin, which is used to treat leprosy or tuberculosis.

Professor Uges said that the drug would negate the effect of any other medication that Mr Milosevic was taking.

The tests had been conducted because Mr Milosevic's blood pressure was not falling, despite the medication he was being prescribed.

There has been speculation that Mr Milosevic committed suicide or was poisoned.

The Russian Foreign Ministry in the Netherlands confirmed that it had received a hand-written letter from Mr Milosevic, complaining that he was receiving "inadequate treatment" and asking to be allowed to go to Moscow for treatment.

Mr Milosevic's lawyer, Zdenko Tomanovic, had also said that the former president feared that he was being poisoned.

However, Professor Uges had suggested that Mr Milosevic had deliberately taken Rifampicin himself in order to get "a one-way ticket to Moscow" for treatment.

Mr Milosevic's death comes one week after Milan Babic, the former rebel Croatian Serb leader, who was testifying against Milosevic, was found dead in his cell at the same detention centre. The cause of death was confirmed as suicide.

Mr Milosevic's body is expected to be released on Monday or Tuesday. His son Marko is expected to collect it.

It is not known where Mr Milosevic will be buried. His wife Mirjana and son Marko, who are live in Russia, face charges in Serbia and could be arrested if they return. They are believed to want the funeral to be held in Russia, while his daughter Marija is thought to favour Montenegro.

However, Mr Milosevic's Serbian Socialist Party have threatened to attempt to bring down the country's minority coalition if the former leader does not receive a funeral in Serbia.

However, Serbian President Boris Tadic has ruled out the prospect of a state funeral for Mr Milosevic, saying that it was "completely inappropriate".

Commenting on Mr Milosevic's death, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said: "It is unfortunate and in many aspects unsatisfactory, given the countless victims of the Balkan wars, that justice now will not be able to run its course."

(KMcA/GB)