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10th Witness Testifies in First Closed Hearing on Milosevic VOA News 1 Mar 2002 18:17 UTC 
The United Nations war crimes tribunal has held its first closed-door session hearing in the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
Court officials have declined to comment on the witness's identity and testimony which are being kept secret. The officials have also refused to specify the reason for the closed session.
Mr. Milosevic is allowed to be present in the courtroom and is permitted to cross-examine the witness, the 10th to testify since the trial opened 17 days ago.
Under court procedure, witnesses have the right to have their identities kept secret if they fear reprisals for themselves and their families or if they fear humiliation from the public disclosure of their stories.
The current phase of the trial focuses on the responsibility of the former Yugoslav leader for war crimes in Kosovo during the violence that swept that Serbian province beginning four years ago. He faces a total of 66 charges of war crimes and genocide arising from the conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo.
Prosecutors have presented evidence they say shows that Serbian forces murdered hundreds of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. In addition, the prosecution says the Serbian crackdown in Kosovo resulted in the deportation of hundreds of thousands of people and prompted the NATO airstrikes against Yugoslavia.
Mr. Milosevic has challenged the legitimacy of the Hague tribunal but is conducting his own defense.
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