Dutch pathologists have completed an autopsy on former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who was found dead in his cell at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague
Initial results were expected Monday from the autopsy which was being observed by Serbian pathologists. A toxicology study had also been ordered on Milosevic's body.
The court's chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, said claims that the 64-year-old had been poisoned or had committed suicide in his cell were "rumors."
But a lawyer (Zdenko Tomanovic) for Milosevic cited a letter the defendant had written one day before his death, which said he feared he was being poisoned.
In the note, Milosevic said a recent blood screening had found traces of antibiotics that he claimed he had never taken.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it might have been better if the war crimes tribunal had reached a verdict before Milosevic died.
She added that Milosevic was undoubtedly responsible for the deaths of many people in the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s, as well as the breakup of Yugoslavia. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had accused Milosevic of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The trial was expected to conclude in coming months, following repeated delays because of Milosevic's health problems.