UN tribunal keeps Srebrenica massacre architect in detention despite poor health

The United Nations war crimes tribunal on July 29 denied Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic’s urgent plea to be released to Serbia on health grounds. Mladic is currently serving a life sentence for his actions during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia.

According to a ruling posted on the court’s website, although Mladic’s health is fragile, it remains stable and is being properly managed at the UN detention centre in The Hague, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

While specific medical details of the 83-year-old former general are redacted in court documents, it is known from previous hearings and filings that he suffers from cognitive impairments and has been hospitalised twice this year.

The court president, Graciela Gatti Santana, acknowledged that “uncontradicted medical opinions” indicate Mladic is approaching the end of his life, a natural human fate. However, she clarified that he does not have an acute terminal illness that would warrant his release.

Mladic commanded Bosnian Serb forces during Bosnia’s brutal 1992-1995 conflict, part of the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia. He was found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, including terrorising civilians during the 43-month siege of Sarajevo and orchestrating the massacre of over 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995.

Mladic’s defence has repeatedly described him as frail and ill. Their most recent filing claimed he suffers from an incurable disease and that his life expectancy is only a matter of months. The defence first requested provisional release on medical grounds in 2017.

After spending 16 years evading capture, Mladic was arrested in Serbia in 2011. He has since been serving his sentence in The Hague.

Mladic’s son, Darko, frequently speaks to Serbian media about his father’s declining health. Despite his conviction, Mladic remains regarded as a hero by some segments of Serbian society.

By Tamilla Hasanova