AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Ratko Mladić, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide and war crimes, died at the age of 85 in The Hague prison.
Mladić had suffered from various illnesses for years, and his physical condition had severely deteriorated in recent weeks. His family, as well as officials in Serbia and the Bosnian Serb Republic, had attempted to have him transferred to Belgrade to spend his final days.
On August 18, Mladić's lawyers, citing his physical condition, requested from the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals that he be conditionally released on humanitarian grounds and transferred directly to a hospital or palliative care center in Serbia. The medical report submitted to the court indicated that his condition was rapidly deteriorating, he had entered the final stage of life, and doctors considered his death likely within the coming weeks.
However, Graciela Gatti Santana, the president of this judicial mechanism, rejected the request for Mladić's early release. This decision was made with the opinion of four judges against two. The court president announced that Mladić's physical condition, given his life sentence, does not justify the exceptional measure of release on humanitarian grounds. The news of the rejection of this request was published only one day before the announcement of his death.
Ratko Mladić, born in Kalinovik, Bosnia and Herzegovina, commanded the Bosnian Serb Army during the 1992-1995 war. The International Tribunal found him guilty on 10 of the 11 counts of the indictment, and his life sentence was finalized in June 2021.
Mladić's convictions included the genocide in Srebrenica, persecution of Bosniak and Croat civilians, murder, expulsion, and inhumane acts, creating terror and illegal attacks on civilians in Sarajevo, and hostage-taking of UN forces. During the Srebrenica genocide in July 1995, more than eight thousand Bosniak men and teenagers were killed.
Mladić was a fugitive for years after the war ended. After about 15 years of evading the judiciary, he was arrested on May 26, 2011, in the village of Lazarevo near Zrenjanin, Serbia, by Serbian security forces, and then transferred to The Hague for trial.
During Mladić's years as a fugitive, it was repeatedly speculated that individuals within Serbia's governmental and security structures were supporting him and providing his hideouts. The Serbian government had even set a 10 million euro reward in October 2010 for information leading to his arrest.
Mladić's death occurred just days after his lawyers' final attempt for release on medical grounds; a request that, despite doctors' warnings about the proximity of the end of his life, was not accepted by The Hague court.
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