UN court denies Mladic, who led Bosnia’s Srebrenica massacre, early release

Ratko Mladic filed the petition to beryllium released connected wellness grounds past month, saying helium lone had a fewer months to live.

A United Nations warfare crimes tribunal has denied a petition from Ratko Mladic, an infamous Bosnian Serb subject person during the 1992 to 1995 Yugoslav wars, who oversaw the Srebrenica massacre, to beryllium released aboriginal to Serbia connected wellness grounds.

Judge Graciela Gatti Santana astatine the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, the tribunal tasked with handling remaining cases from the Yugoslav warfare crimes tribunal, said connected Tuesday that Mladic’s information did not conscionable the threshold of an “acute terminal illness” required for aboriginal release.

Mladic, known arsenic the “Butcher of Bosnia”, was sentenced to beingness imprisonment successful 2017 implicit genocide, warfare crimes and crimes against humanity. He had filed a petition to beryllium freed connected June 3, 2025, saying helium lone had a fewer months to live.

“I admit that Mladic’s existent condition, which requires dependency connected others for activities of regular living, is precarious,” Santana said successful a 12-page determination issued successful The Hague connected Tuesday.

“Nonetheless, Mladic continues to person precise broad and compassionate care, arsenic amply supported by aesculapian reports.

“The accusation earlier maine demonstrates that the compelling humanitarian circumstances invoked by Mladic arsenic a ground for his merchandise are not substantiated.”

Mladic, 83, was sentenced by the UN tribunal for the erstwhile Yugoslavia for his relation successful terrorising the civilian colonisation during the 43-month siege of the Bosnian superior Sarajevo and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

Some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered successful Srebrenica by Bosnian Serb forces successful July that year.

People commune among the gravestones of Srebrenica victims [Urooba Jamal/Al Jazeera]

The Srebrenica genocide was the bloody crescendo of the Bosnian war, which erupted during Yugoslavia’s dissolution, arsenic Bosnian Serbs sought to carve retired Serb-dominated areas by taste cleansing against the country’s 2 different main taste populations – Croats and Muslim Bosniaks. Until the Russia-Ukraine war, the Bosnian warfare was considered the astir convulsive struggle successful Europe since the extremity of World War II.

Mladic has agelong been described by his lawyers arsenic sick and frail. In their latest request, they said helium suffered from an incurable unwellness and that “his remaining beingness expectancy is measured successful months,” according to a filing seen by the AFP quality agency.

His defence archetypal sought provisional merchandise connected aesculapian grounds successful 2017.

Santana said Mladic’s continued incarceration was neither “inhuman nor degrading”.

Mladic was arrested successful Serbia successful 2011 aft 16 years connected the tally and is serving his condemnation successful The Hague.

His son, Darko, often speaks to Serbian media astir the mediocre wellness of his father, who is inactive seen arsenic a leader by nationalists successful Serbia.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies