Hadzic seeks urgent temporary release on grounds of illness

THE HAGUE - Goran Hadzic (56), a war crimes indictee in detention at The Hague, has asked the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to urgently grant him temporary release so he could undergo chemotherapy as he was diagnosed with inoperable cancer, the ICTY said in a release on Friday.

Over the past 48 hours, Hadzic has filed two motions for provisional release, one on Wednesday, and the other today, in which he is asking to be urgently given three weeks out of jail so he could start his chemotherapy on Sunday, February 26.

He also called on the Trial Chamber to approve his previous motion for a provisional release of 12 or more weeks.

In a motion dated February 18, it is stated that Hadzic has been diagnosed with cancer that cannot be operated on and that the disease is in its final stage.

The average life expectancy with the diagnosis is 17 months, and between 65 and 75 percent of patients die within two years of diagnosis, according to the motion.

Hadzic's doctor prescribed six months of chemotherapy, and he should undergo an MRI scan in May.

The Defense points out that the accused will not be able to attend his trial for months, as that would adversely affect his health during chemotherapy.

Hadzic, former president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK), is indicted for crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war during the 1991-95 armed conflicts in Croatia.

The former RSK president, who was Serbia's last international war crimes suspect and fugitive, was arrested near the village of Krusedol on the slopes of Fruska Gora in northern Serbia and extradited to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague only 48 hours after the arrest.