The Hague war crimes tribunal has temporarily frozen a decision to release two of Mr Slobodan Milosevic's former right hand men after prosecutors said they would appeal against the move, the court said today.
Ex-Yugoslav deputy premier Mr Nikola Sainovic and former army commander Mr Dragoljub Ojdanic were granted temporary release by the trial chamber late yesterday but remain in custody at the UN tribunal's detention centre in The Hague.
Prosecutors told the court earlier this month they wanted the right to challenge any decision to release the two in the tribunal's appeals chamber. They objected strongly to their temporary release before they stand trial.
Mr Sainovic and Mr Ojdanic were indicted alongside former Yugoslav President Mr Milosevic for their alleged role in mass killings and the expulsion of around 800,000 Kosovo Albanians from the renegade southern Serb province in 1999.
The two surrendered voluntarily to the court in April and May. They pleaded not guilty to charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. All war crimes suspects are entitled to apply for temporary release before they stand trial.
The surrender of Mr Milosevic's closest allies to the court followed hard on the heels of the Yugoslav parliament's decision in April to pass a law on cooperation with the court to ease intense financial and political pressure from the West.