The Journalist and the Dictator

Jacky Rowland, who reported for the BBC from Belgrade for several years, did not see Slobodan Milosevic in the flesh until this week, when she testified against him at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in the Hague. It was an intriguing encounter that she writes about in today’s Guardian. Amusingly, when Rowland visited, before her court appearance, the prosecutor of the case, Geoffrey Nice, she noticed a comedy show on his television, and when she asked what to expect from Milosevic’s cross-examination, Nice told her not to worry. “Oh, old Grumpy Paws will probably want to ask you a few questions,” he said.

Old Grumpy Paws?