Milosevic Seeks Freedom in Human Rights Court

Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic has asked the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, to order his release and throw out the case against him at the U.N. war crimes tribunal, the court said.

Milosevic, who is facing charges of war crimes and genocide, argued in the complaint that his arrest and detention and the proceedings against him violate the European Convention on Human Rights.

The complaint is directed against the Netherlands, where the tribunal is based and where he has been held since his June 28 transfer from Yugoslavia. A Dutch court ruled Aug. 31 that the Netherlands had no jurisdiction to decide whether to free him.