Convicted Yugoslav Army Officer Raises Health Problems
Vladimir Lazarevic says doctors have identified a range of concerns.
Convicted Yugoslav Army Officer Raises Health Problems
Vladimir Lazarevic says doctors have identified a range of concerns.
As the appeals process in his case continues, former Yugoslav army commander Vladimir Lazarevic complained to Hague judges this week that he was suffering from various ailments, including depression and problems with his digestive system and teeth.
In February 2009, Lazarevic was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the deportation and forcible transfer of Kosovo Albanian civilians from Kosovo during the late 1990s conflict there.
He is appealing against his conviction, and during a routine status conference – held every 120 days during the appeals process – he told the bench he had been examined by three Serbian doctors in June. They found that his condition required “urgent” new tests, including a colonoscopy, and that his health had “considerably deteriorated”.
Lazarevic said he had problems with his digestive system and “vascular and oral conditions”. The doctors also found that he was suffering from a “constant anxiety depressive disorder… resulting from the overall stressful situation of past years.”
“They see symptoms of chemical affliction of brain… and a reduced density of brain mass,” Lazarevic told the bench.
Lazarevic said he had ongoing problems with his mouth, in the “absence of any teeth in my upper jaw and the inability to use mobile dentures since February 2009”.
“This problem also complicates my digestive problems,” he added.
He said his condition required dental implants, which he had so far not received despite requests to the court registry.
“My defence team and I are not asking for anything special like pearl implants or heat-resistant implants,” he said
Lazarevic noted that the results of the Serbian doctors’ examinations differed from those carried out in the United Nations Detention Unit, but he did not provide specifics.
Judge Liu Daquin responded that the tribunal was expecting a report from the Serbian government on Lazarevic’s health issues, and would look at what action it would take after that.
“I believe we are not in a position to judge whether your medical care is justified or not. We will leave this in hands of experts,” the judge said.
Lazarevic stood trial along with five other defendants for crimes committed during the Kosovo conflict. Three of them – former deputy prime minister for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nikola Sainovic, former Yugoslav army general Nebojsa Pavkovic, and ex-police commander Sreten Lukic – were found guilty of murder, persecution, and forcible transfer and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The ex-chief of staff of the Yugoslav army, Dragoljub Ojdanic, was found guilty of aiding and abetting the deportation and forcible transfer of Kosovo Albanian civilians, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The fifth co-accused, former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic, was acquitted of all charges.
Rachel Irwin is IWPR’s Senior Reporter in The Hague.
