War criminal Ratko Mladić’s request for early release rejected

Mladic’s defence had asked the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals to allow him temporary release to Serbia, specifically Belgrade, for what it described as urgent medical treatment.

His lawyers claimed that Mladic was in “catastrophic” health, citing cognitive decline, dementia, heart problems and general weakness. They also argued that medical care at the UN detention unit in Scheveningen was inadequate.

The court rejected the request after reviewing reports from independent medical experts appointed by the Mechanism, as well as reports from prison doctors. Reuters previously reported that the UN court had ordered an independent medical evaluation after Mladic’s defence sought release on humanitarian grounds.

Mladić, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, has been in custody in The Hague since May 31, 2011, after spending almost 16 years as a fugitive.

The ICTY convicted him in November 2017 of genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war committed during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, sentencing him to life imprisonment. The conviction included crimes related to the Srebrenica genocide and the siege of Sarajevo.

The Mechanism’s Appeals Chamber upheld the life sentence in June 2021. Mladic remains in the detention unit in Scheveningen while a final decision on the country where he will serve his life sentence has not been publicly implemented. His defence has repeatedly cited his health condition in previous requests for release.