Bosnia war crimes convict Ratko Mladić dies in The Hague

International

RATKO Mladić, the Bosnian Serb commander who evaded justice for 16 years before being convicted of genocide and other wartime crimes, has died aged 84 in UN custody in The Hague.

Mladić was serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2017 of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 1992-95 wars in the former Yugoslavia. His conviction was upheld on appeal in 2021.

Known as the “Butcher of Bosnia”, Mladić had been held at the UN detention facility in The Hague since his arrest in rural Serbia in 2011, ending years as a fugitive.

The UN court confirmed his death on Thursday, saying he had been receiving palliative care at the facility’s hospital.

Dutch authorities have opened an investigation, while the court’s top judge “has ordered a full inquiry into the circumstances” of his death.

As commander of Bosnian Serb forces, Mladić led operations during the war against Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) and Bosnian Croat forces. His troops were involved in the forcible removal of non-Serb populations in a campaign known as “ethnic cleansing”.

His forces also besieged Sarajevo, where more than 10,000 people died, and carried out the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica, in which about 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed.

Mladić never recognised the legitimacy of the UN court.

His health had deteriorated in recent years. In May, judges rejected his lawyers’ request for his release, acknowledging that his condition was “dire” but finding that he was receiving “comprehensive and compassionate treatment” in custody.

His lawyers had said he had been largely confined to a bed or wheelchair and had suffered a suspected stroke that left him almost unable to speak.

His death drew sharply different reactions in Bosnia and Serbia.

Hasan Hasanović, a Srebrenica survivor who lost his twin brother and father in the massacre, told the BBC World Service’s Newshour programme that Mladić’s death “does not bring closure because the people who were killed in Srebrenica cannot come back”.

Hasanović said the consequences of the conflict remain, including Bosnia-Herzegovina’s political divisions and continued genocide denial.

Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik, meanwhile, told Reuters that Mladić remained respected by many Serbs and was seen by them as a commander who defended his people.

In Belgrade, some residents also defended Mladić. One resident, identified as Milan by Reuters, said he believed Mladić had been protecting the Serbian people. Another, Vasilije, described his imprisonment in The Hague as unjust.(MyTVCebu)