Milosevic would not have committed suicide: lawyer

(Reuters) - Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who has died in UN custody at the Hague, would not have committed suicide because he was determined to complete his war crimes trial, his lawyer said on Saturday.

Steven Kay, one of the court-assigned lawyers, said he had spoken to his client about suicide recently.

"He said to me a few weeks ago, I haven't fought this case for as long as I have with any intention to do any harm to myself," Kay told BBC television.

"He has a history of suicide in his family -- both his parents -- but as far as he was concerned, his attitude to me was quite the opposite from that. He was determined to keep fighting his case."

Milosevic, 64, suffered a heart condition and high blood pressure which had repeatedly interrupted his trial in the Hague on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Kay said he had recently appealed to the court to have him released from the Hague to receive medical treatment in Moscow. They had been waiting for a response when Milosevic died.

"He was in poor health, he had a recognized heart condition, a cardiovascular problem," Kay said. "In the last six months he also developed pains inside his head which was linked to a problem with his ears."

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