A visibly frightened witness refused to testify in the trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic at the UN war crimes tribunal Tuesday, saying he preferred to go to jail than answer questions from the judge or prosecution.
Presiding judge Richard May immediately began contempt of court proceedings against the man, whose identity has not been made public and who is known as ”K12” by the prosecution, before adjourning the hearing.
It is the first such incident of its kind since the trial against Milosevic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia began on February 12.
The individual was appearing as a ”protected witness” for the prosecution at the trial, where the former strongman is charged with more than 60 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his involvement in the wars that tore apart the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
The witness was due to give evidence over the court’s internal television system. His face was scrambled on the screen, and his faltering voice, interspersed with loud sighs, could be heard before the interpreters translated his words.
”I have had enough of this psychological process for two days,” he said in response to a question by prosecutor Geoffrey Nice asking if he had done his military service. ”Leave me alone. I go crazy this way.”
”I have more problems now that if I were in prison. So put me in prison,” he said.
An attempt by Nice on Monday to question the man also failed. Proceedings against Milosevic are initially dealing with his role in the 1998-99 Serb crackdown against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, which led to the 1999 Nato bombardment of Yugoslavia.
His involvement in the wars in Croatia and Bosnia will be examined later by the court. – Sapa-AFP