Former Bosnian Serb general Radislav Krstic, a close associate of Ratko Mladic and the first person convicted by the Hague Tribunal for participating in the Srebrenica genocide, has appealed to the United Nations court for release after 26 years in prison, stating that he accepts the Tribunal's verdicts from 2001 and 2004 confirming that the forces he was part of committed genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica.

“I hereby acknowledge the Tribunal's judgments from 2001 and 2004, which establish that the forces of the army to which I belonged committed genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica in July 1995. I assisted and supported the genocide by knowing that some members of the Main Staff intended to commit genocide, that the Main Staff lacked sufficient forces to carry out the executions without the Drina Corps, and that using the forces under my command would significantly contribute to the execution of Bosniak prisoners,” Krstic wrote in his letter addressed to the President of the Mechanism, alongside a new request for early release.

The Hague convict sent the letter shortly after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on the Srebrenica genocide, which, as Krstic himself stated in his letter, he would have voted for.

“I have no right to vote because this Resolution mentions my name. My name is mentioned because I assisted and supported genocide. My name is mentioned because I committed an unimaginable and unforgivable crime. I do not ask for forgiveness, justification, or understanding, as I know that I neither can nor should receive them,” he stated.

He requested release based on his acknowledgment, deteriorating health, and the years already served. Although aware that the response to his request could be either positive or negative, he concluded the letter by saying:

“In the end, if I live to see it, if one day I am deemed worthy, if the President of the Mechanism agrees, and if the victims’ families permit it, I would like to stand once more in Potocari, bow to the victims, and ask for forgiveness.”

Krstic first appeared before the Hague Tribunal on November 25, 1999, and pleaded not guilty. He did not express remorse or plead guilty even in the appeal process.

He was sentenced in 2004 to a final sentence of 35 years in prison for aiding and abetting genocide in Srebrenica.

In September 2019, he sought early release, which was denied by the Hague Tribunal.

Three years later, in May 2022, he accepted personal responsibility for war crimes in Srebrenica, though not for genocide, and based on that sought a reduction of his sentence, but the request was rejected.

The UN Court has yet to decide on his latest request.

Krstic is currently in the UN Detention Unit in The Hague, after being transferred from a prison in Poland.