THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Court-appointed lawyers for former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic have asked the international court to let him defend himself, the BBC said Thursday.
British lawyer Steven Kay, one of the lawyers appointed to defend Milosevic against more than 60 counts of genocide and war crimes in the Balkans in the 1990s, made the request to the five-judge appeal panel at The Hague.
"One cannot think of a more fundamental right, more in the interest of justice, more going to the fairness of a trial, than the right to present your defense as you want to present it, rather than how somebody else would like for you to present it," Kay said.
Milosevic has refused to cooperate with the defense team, while his lawyers claim the judges sacrificed his right, in order to speed up the trial, which has suffered numerous delays because of his health problems with high blood pressure.
There was no indication when the appeal court would issue a ruling.
