Experts Suggests Improvements to Detention Unit

The audit comes in the wake of the death in custody of the court’s most high-profile defendant, former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, in March this year.



Tests carried out prior to Milosevic’s death revealed a substance in his blood which was not prescribed by tribunal doctors and which is known to counter the medication he was taking for high blood pressure.



While Milosevic himself claimed he was being poisoned, it is widely believed that he may have been manipulating his own health as part of a bid to secure a period of temporary release from custody.



Also in March, Milan Babic, a self-confessed war criminal who agreed to give insider testimony on behalf of Hague prosecutors, committed suicide in his cell at the unit.



The report by the team of experts, who include the director-general of Sweden’s justice ministry and the former head of its prisons system, says detainees are broadly satisfied with the running of the facility, which is located within a Dutch prison in the seaside neighbourhood of Scheveningen.



The report notes that there are no signs of ethnic tensions between the prisoners, and also concludes that staff mostly “appear anxious to conduct their duties in a self-critical and transparent manner”.



But the experts point to a “remarkable” lack of ongoing training for those employed at the unit and say conditions could also be improved for inmates.



Frustrations amongst the detainees concerning their diet, stemming in part from differences between the Dutch and Balkan cuisines, could be alleviated by allowing them to cook for themselves, the experts say. This might also help address a need for more opportunities for prisoners to occupy themselves, besides the sports and handicrafts currently on offer.



The auditors also note that the unit’s visiting hall is “not conducive to a pleasant atmosphere” and that the room used for private visits – including “intimate relations” – is “shabby and downright unpleasant”. They suggested setting up “special visiting apartments” for family visits. In addition, the experts would like “reasonable” travel expenses for detainees’ families to be paid by the tribunal.



The report also recommends a review of the way the detention unit is organised, including a problem of “long decision-making chains” which make it difficult to ensure tasks are carried out properly, even though senior staff regularly tour the prison.



Other problems highlighted by the experts include the unwillingness of other states to accept detainees following convictions for war crimes, meaning that such people have to remain in the detention unit until a host state can be found. This can lead to strained relations with other detainees, they say, and prevents the individuals concerned from planning for the future.



Elsewhere, in a clear reference to Milosevic, the report notes problems that arose when one detainee was allowed to conduct his own legal defence. This required a large number of visits, it says, and meant that it became difficult to maintain sufficient control over visits and telephone conversations.



Internal inquiries are ongoing into the deaths of both Milosevic and Babic.