Court blocks Milosevic legal aid

By Matt Prodger
BBC News in the Balkans

Mr Milosevic has been on trial at The Hague since 2002

Serbia's highest court has blocked a law offering financial aid to Slobodan Milosevic and other alleged war criminals facing trial at The Hague.

The legislation, supported by the government, would have used taxpayers' money to pay for the former president's the legal fees and expenses.

It would also have compensated for lost earnings during the legal proceedings.

Serbia's constitutional court issued a temporary ban on the disputed law, until it decides on a final ruling.

Nationalist government

The legislation was introduced by the strongly nationalist Serbian radical party and supported publicly by the Prime Minister, Vojislav Kostunica.

Mr Milosevic's supporters in parliament condemned the court's decision.

The current government, which was elected in December, is a much more nationalist one than that which extradited Slobodan Milosevic to The Hague in 2001.

Mr Kostunica has had to rely on the parliamentary support of Mr Milosevic's Socialist Party.

In another development, one of the most outspoken critics of the pro-Milosevic legislation, Foreign Minister Goran Silvanovic, has resigned as part of a cabinet reshuffle.

He is expected to be replaced by the flamboyant leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, Vuk Draskovic, a familiar figure in Serbian politics.