The body of Slobodan Milosevic will be heading to Serbia later Wednesday, ending days of speculation over where the former Yugoslav president would be laid to rest. A senior official of the former Yugoslav president's political party says his funeral will be held Saturday in his hometown of Pozarevac.
Milosevic's body will be flown home from Amsterdam's airport, where it spent the night attended by his son Marko. Serbian President Boris Tadic has ruled out a state funeral. Although Milosevic will not receive a state burial, his old party officials say there will be a dignified funeral for the former president.
The decision to have the funeral in Milosevic's home country came after a Serbian court lifted an arrest warrant for his wife Mira. She can now attend the funeral, but must surrender her passport, appear in court for corruption charges, and answer questions by police over the murder of one of her late husband's political rivals. It is still uncertain whether or not she will attend.
Questions regarding Milosevic's death surfaced after a Dutch toxicologist said he had taken a powerful antibiotic that is used to treat diseases he did not have. The doctor speculated that Milosevic may have been trying to make himself sick so he could go to Moscow for medical treatment.
Preliminary autopsy results by the war crimes tribunal say he died of a heart attack. Skeptical Russian doctors who came to The Netherlands now back up that finding. Results of a full toxicological report are still pending, although son Marko insists his father was murdered.
Tribunal officials admitted Tuesday that defense lawyers and witnesses who had access to Milosevic were not searched as thoroughly as family visitors. This means Milosevic could have had access to unprescribed medication. Milosevic was defending himself against 66 counts of crimes against humanity and genocide and had special privileges to help with his defense.