[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website] formally closed its war crimes case against former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] Tuesday, three days after he was found dead in his cell [JURIST report] over the weekend. The court, which had been trying the case against Milosevic for over four years, expressed regret to the victims of the Balkan wars that his sudden death would prevent a judgment. AP has more.
Meanwhile Milosevic's burial is being plagued by political and legal complications. Son Marko Milosevic arrived in The Hague Tuesday to retrieve his father's body, but said that because of various "threats" he is planning temporary interment in Moscow [B92 report], and had received permission from Moscow's mayor. Serbian President Boris Tadic has told reporters, however, that Serbia has no objection to Milosevic being buried in Belgrade. To facilitate this, a Belgrade court Tuesday released [AP report] an outstanding arrest warrant [JURIST report] against Milosevic's wife Mira Markovic [BBC profile], who fled to Russia to avoid corruption charges [BBC report] against her in 2003. The court said, however, that it would require Markovic to give up her passport if she enters the country and appear before a judge [BBC report] on March 23 in connection with the charges, "otherwise she will arrested and detained." Reuters has more.