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Witness History

The largest war crimes trial in history

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2022

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 2002 the former Serbian president, Slobodan Milosevic, went on trial at the International Criminal Court in the Hague on war crimes charges relating to the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. The man once known as the 'Butcher of the Balkans' would die in prison before the trial had concluded. In 2017, Louise Hidalgo spoke to two lawyers, Zdenko Tomanovic and Steven Kay QC, who worked on Slodan Milosevic's defence.

PHOTO: Slobodan Milosevic on trial in The Hague in 2002 (PAUL VREEKER/AFP/Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0

Choosing what to watch night after night the flicking through the endless

0:06.8

searching is a nightmare we want to help you on our brand new podcast off the

0:11.8

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0:14.0

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Load to games, loads of fun, loads of screaming.

0:19.0

Lovely. Off the telly with me Joanna Paige.

0:21.0

And me, Natalie Cassidy, so your evenings can be a little less

0:24.9

searching and a lot more auction listen on BBC sounds. Hello and thank you for downloading Witness History from the BBC World Service with me

0:39.8

Louise Adalgo. Today we're going back 20 years to the start of the largest war crimes

0:45.5

trial in history. In the dock in the Hague was the former Serbian president

0:50.2

Slobidam Milosievich, accused of war crimes in the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

0:56.2

The prosecution case alone took two years and Mr Milosovic would die in custody before the

1:02.2

trial was over.

1:03.0

I spoke to two lawyers, one Serbian, one British,

1:07.0

who helped the man once described

1:09.0

as the Butcher of the Balkans to defend himself.

1:12.0

Good morning, your honors. the prosecutor versus Slobodan Milose. He did not confront his case number IT 0 to 54 T the prosecutor versus Slobodam Milosevich.

1:22.0

He did not confront his victims. He was able to view what was happening

1:27.3

from the distance of high political office and if the prosecution's case is right, he had these crimes committed for him.

1:36.7

I consider this tribunal, false tribunal, an indictments false indictments it is illegal being not appointed by UN General Assembly

1:48.1

so I have no need to appoint counsel to illegal organ.

1:53.0

At the start there were no relations between us at all.

...

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