Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's defense case against war crimes has been postponed until August 31 due to his ill health, according to a ruling statement received Friday.

This is the third time in a row within one month for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to postpone the trial.

The ICTY issued on Friday an order to adjourn the proceedings of Milosevic's trial to the last day of August.

"The Trial Chamber considered the medical report of Dr. M.I. Sedney, dated 16 July 2004, in which, on the basis of the blood pressure values of the Accused, she advises that he should not attend the hearing set for Monday, July 19, 2004," the order said.

The case of the former Yugoslav president was first adjourned from July 7 to July 14 when he was to launch his defense, with doctors saying his high blood pressure and heart problems made himunfit for trial. Later, the ICTY once again decided to postpone the trial to July 19.

Milosevic has been working on his defense since the prosecution finished its case in February. The judges said they might assign a defense lawyer to either help Milosevic with preparation and representation of his defense, or, in exceptional cases, take overthe defense.

Milosevic faces more than 60 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his alleged central role in the wars in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

The trial has been postponed for a number of times due to poor health of the accused since it started in February 2002. The case is expected to be concluded in 2005 at the earliest.

Source: Xinhua