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A United Nations war crimes court on Thursday rejected a request for the early release of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic, despite acknowledging that the convicted general is in the “final stages” of his life.
Mladic, 83, is serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
His lawyers had requested provisional release and transfer to Serbia for treatment, citing severe health problems and arguing that he was nearing the end of his life after suffering a stroke last month.
They told the court that Mladic was “in a state of advanced, irreversible medical decline” and approaching death.
In its ruling, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals acknowledged that Mladic’s condition was “dire” and confirmed that he is in “the final stages of his life.”
However, the court concluded that detention conditions in The Hague remained appropriate and that his imprisonment was not worsening his medical condition.
“There is no additional treatment available elsewhere that is unavailable in the Netherlands,” the court said.
“Mladic continues to receive comprehensive and compassionate treatment from qualified doctors, nursing staff, and prison staff,” it added.
Judge Graciela Gatti Santana said the prison hospital was of sufficiently high quality to ensure Mladic’s comfort and dignity.
“For Mladic, upholding his dignity and fundamental rights, including creating sufficient possibilities for him to be surrounded by family and friends, does not require his release,” she wrote in the decision.
Court documents show Mladic suffers from cognitive impairments and has been hospitalized multiple times in recent years.
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Mladic commanded Bosnian Serb forces during the Bosnian war, one of the bloodiest conflicts following the breakup of Yugoslavia.
A U.N. tribunal sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2017 for genocide and war crimes, a verdict upheld on appeal in 2021.
He was convicted over the siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, in which more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed after Bosnian Serb forces captured the eastern town.
The Bosnian war claimed an estimated 100,000 lives and displaced millions of people.
Mladic was arrested in Serbia in 2011 after years in hiding.
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