100 days for Milosevic prosecutors
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Milosevic is defending himself against charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CNN) -- Judges in Slobodan Milosevic's war crimes trial have given prosecutors 100 additional trial days to complete their case against the former Yugoslav president.
Prosecutors in Europe's biggest war crimes case since World War II were originally ordered to present all their evidence by May 16.
They asked the judges to extend that time indefinitely until all prosecution witnesses could testify.
But on Tuesday the judges said granting the request would make the trial "excessively long and oppressive to all concerned, in particular the accused who has to meet this case and mount a defense."
Instead, the judges granted prosecutors 100 extra days in court from May 16 to present evidence from more than 100 witnesses and wrap up the case.
"The trial chamber has come to the conclusion that it would be in the interests of justice to allow some variation in the time limit to allow the prosecution more time to call further witnesses it regards as essential," presiding judge Richard May said in issuing the ruling.
Accounting for rest days for Milosevic and a three-week break in August, the ruling effectively means prosecutors must wrap up their case by year's end.
Milosevic, accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Balkans in the 1990s, is defending himself. The deadline raises the prospect of him launching his defense early next year.
The trial's first phase, focusing on alleged Serb atrocities in Kosovo in 1999, ended last September. The court has since tackled evidence on the 1991-95 conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia.
The trial, which started in February 2002, has been disrupted by Milosevic's frequent bouts of ill health. It has heard evidence from more than 180 witnesses covering three conflicts spanning almost a decade of Milosevic's 13-year rule.
