A UN war tribunal has rejected a request for the release of Bosnian-Serb ex-general Ratko Mladic. His lawyers had requested this because he is suffering from serious health problems.
Mladic is serving a life sentence in prison in Scheveningen. He was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity in the war in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995. He was responsible for the deaths of more than eight thousand Muslims in Srebrenica.
The decision of the IRMCT tribunal states that the health condition of the 83-year-old Mladic is precarious, but that he receives good care in prison, reports news agency Reuters. According to earlier reports, Mladic suffers from cognitive disorders and has been hospitalized at least twice this year.
Graciela Gatti, the president of the court, writes that “medical advice indicates that Mladic is nearing the end of his life,” but also that the former general does not have an acute terminal illness that justifies release.
Mladic was already wanted by the Yugoslavia tribunal in 1996, but managed to evade justice until 2011. He was eventually arrested in the north of Serbia and already had health problems at that time. For example, he suffered from paralysis as a result of strokes. Mladic was convicted in 2021.