In a decision dated August 22 the ICTY quoted an opinion by Dutch cardiologist Paul van Dykman as suggesting that the current work regime be maintained to prevent possible problems with hypertension which Milosevic has been diagnosed with.
Prosecutor Geoffrey Nice has been claiming since the start of the trial that Milosevic manipulates his medicines and his high blood pressure to his own ends, which is why the trial has been interrupted more than a dozen times, but only twice since September 2004, when Milosevic started questioning defence witnesses.
This prompted Nice before the summer recess to ask that more working days or hours be introduced in the marathon trial which started in February 2002.
Since September 2004 the former Yugoslav president has questioned some 50 witnesses, using up more than a half of 150 working days he was given for his defence. At the beginning of the trial Milosevic said he would call more than 1,600 defence witnesses, and the trial chamber decided not to limit their number but only the number of working days for his defence.
Considering the remaining time and the fact that the prosecution has requested reopening the evidence procedure to introduce new evidence, it is estimated that the trial will last until the end of next year.