BELGRADE ATTORNEY TO VISIT MILOSEVIC IN THE HAGUE

THE HAGUE, July 4 (Hina) - A Belgrade attorney Zdenko Tomanovic said on Wednesday he would visit former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in the Scheveningen penitentiary outside The Hague at 14.00 hours today. When asked to comment on the reasons for his visiting the tribunal, considering the fact he had not been officially appointed to prepare Milosevic's defence before the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Tomanovic said he held talks with the tribunal's secretariat officials on "technical details". He refused to further discuss the details of the talks. Due to the fact that Milosevic waived his right to counsel and does not recognise the legitimacy of the ICTY, it is my duty, as his attorney, to analyse his legal situation in the light of the fact that he does not have nor want defence counsel before the Hague tribunal, Tomanovic said. At his initial appearance before the ICTY on Tuesday, the ousted Yugoslav President refused to enter a plea, stressing the Hague Tribunal was in his opinion an illegal institution. The panel of judges decided to enter a plea of not guilty to every point of the indictment on Milosevic's behalf. (hina) it sb