THE HAGUE: The former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic was yesterday given a three month break to prepare his defence against genocide charges - further stretching this mammoth trial.
Judges dismissed Mr Milosevic's demand earlier this month for two years to prepare, and also refused a second request, to be let out of jail for this period.
Mr Milosevic faces a massive charge-sheet, with 66 separate counts spread over nine years and three Balkan wars.
Having refused to use a court-appointed defence lawyer, Mr Milosevic claims he needs at least two years to prepare a proper defence case.
But prosecutors have accused Mr Milosevic of an elaborate fiction, pointing to the fact that he has a four-strong team of defence attorneys, based in Belgrade, who keep in touch by phone and email.
Prosecutors say their case is going well. They appear have proved not just that atrocities were committed across the Balkans, but also that Mr Milosevic was in command.
The price of that proof has been high. The trial has often gone at snail's pace, and estimates for its completion continue to be stretched.
The decision to give Mr Milosevic a three-month break, albeit still stuck in a prison cell, imposes further delays on a trial heading past the five-year mark.
Prosecutors will finish their case in December, 22 months after they started. Mr Milosevic will then have equal time for his defence case, plus the three months to prepare, after which at least a year for judgement and sentencing.
And then, of course, there will be appeals.
As well as legal fees, the trial has soaked up massive research expenditure.