Ratko Mladic: ‘Terminally ill' Bosnian Serb general serving life for genocide seeks release
Lawyers for former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, serving life imprisonment for genocide, have asked a UN court to release him on 'humanitarian grounds' – claiming he has a terminal medical condition and just months to live.
Mladic (83) – known during the Yugoslav war as the Butcher of Bosnia – was found guilty in 2017 of extermination, murder, persecution and forcible transfer in connection with the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the 'safe haven' of Srebrenica in July 1995.
He was also convicted of directing the 43-month siege of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, in which almost 14,000 people died. It lasted a year longer than the siege of Stalingrad and was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.
Mladic's application for early release lodged with judges at the international court in The Hague by his long-time legal team, Dragan Ivetic and Branko Lukic, comes just weeks before the 30th anniversary commemoration of the Srebrenica atrocities, on July 11th.
READ MORE
According to a motion lodged last week with the court and now publicly available on its website, Mladic has been moved to palliative care at the UN detention centre a few kilometres from the court, and has just 'months to live'.
[
The Irish Times view from 2021 on Ratko Mladic: held to account
Opens in new window
]
Although the details of his medical condition are redacted from the motion as it appears on the court's website, it is known that Mladic has suffered two strokes and a heart attack in recent years while incarcerated.
The former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska also had a pacemaker fitted at a Dutch hospital in 2023. However, his condition continues to deteriorate and since then, his kidneys have failed.
'Given Mladic's incurable condition and his short life expectancy, continued detention serves no legitimate purpose, and amounts to inhumane treatment and punishment,' the motion reads.
As well as saving the UN detention centre the cost of palliative care, his lawyers argue, early release would allow Mladic to explore all his medical options, so as to live out the remaining months of his life with his family.
[
Inside Srebrenica: old scars, new wounds
Opens in new window
]
Mladic's son, Darko, said he had spoken to two doctors on the UN medical team who confirmed the terminal diagnosis. 'Our Serbian doctors share the opinion that he has very little chance of surviving until the end of this year,' he added.
Mladic was convicted and sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
This has largely completed its work and has been subsumed into the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), also in The Hague.
The motion is listed on the IRMCT website as an 'urgent defence motion'.
However, there is no indication of when the court will rule.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Government can't replace triple lock with vague criteria for deploying our troops
In the pipeline for over two years, the Government has finally published the general scheme for its proposed end to the triple lock. This 'heads of Bill' sets out the key provisions that will govern future deployment overseas of Irish troops. The process has hardly been rushed. The fact that the draft law has technical provisions covering arrangements for pre-1993 and Reserve Force members shows the department and Defence Forces have thought through the consequences of the changes. What is far less clear is the political thinking behind it. Two years after Taoiseach Micheál Martin's 2023 Consultative Forum on International Security Policy, there is little sign of any big political analysis in what will be a fundamental shift in how we decide peacekeeping and military engagement. The push to reform the triple lock — which requires Government and Dáil approval, plus a UN mandate before deploying more than 12 Defence Forces personnel overseas — rests on the reality that the UN Security Council has not approved a new peacekeeping mission since 2014. Retaining legislation that does not recognise this stark fact of UN politics is empty symbolism. While the 'Triple Lock' phrase is a recent construct, the law that underpins it is the Defence (Amendment) (No.2) Act 1960. It enshrined the core principle of a UN mandate. As did its later updates in 1993 and 2006, each update taking account of evolving circumstances. Introducing the 1960 Act in the Dáil, An Taoiseach Seán Lemass said, '…it is not only our moral duty but in our national interests to support the growth of the influence and power of the United Nations.' While the language may be a tad outdated, it describes a principled stance, grounded in national interest. One that still applies. Vague criteria I do not believe this government wants to abandon multilateralism. But the text it has produced suggests that neither an Taoiseach nor Tánaiste have given proper political thought to the impact of removing direct references to UN authority from our law. Citing Russia vetoes may make a good put-down in a terse discussion, but policy making by punchline is not good government. The criteria that replace the third element of the triple lock are vague. Head 6 cites 'principles of the United Nations Charter' and 'conformity with the principles of justice and international law.' Both are honourable principles but the heads of bill, as drafted, would effectively leave it to the government of the day to decide if the criteria were met. There is no reference to specific UN or OSCE resolutions. There is no requirement that missions be mandated by such resolutions. In effect, the opinion of the government of the day would replace a specific UN mandate. Removing the UN mandate requirement without robust, transparent criteria is a mistake. It risks eroding public trust in the legitimacy of and integrity of the process of sending troops on overseas missions. The public does not distinguish between peace support deployments to Lebanon or Congo, which were both UN-led, or to Kosovo or Bosnia which were Nato-led, or to Chad, which was EU-led. Regardless of who leads or runs a mission, the public views them all as UN-mandated missions. Peacekeeping deployments that were all in pursuance of UN resolutions. These missions also had widescale cross-party Dáil support. Replacing an explicit multilateral mandate with a politically subjective text risks politicising the process. We do not want future deployments decided by tight Dáil votes, where partisan, government versus opposition, considerations dominate. This would undermine public confidence. We should not squander such a valuable trust. Solution I understand what the Government is trying to achieve, but it is doing it the wrong way. Meanwhile, the total Opposition approach from across the Dáil floor, is just as flawed. Cross-party consensus is the way forward. And despite the rhetoric, it is within our grasp. We can create a new law that addresses current realities without undermining public support for future deployments. Instead of pushing through its proposals as outlined, the Government should invite Opposition amendments that clarify deployment criteria. Criteria and tests that better express our commitment to multilateralism. In return, the Opposition must accept that the 1960 Act needs reform and draft criteria that both recognise that the UN Security Council has not established a new mission since 2014 and reaffirm our national commitment to multilateralism. Playing party politics with this reform risks politicising future deployments. We spend too little political time discussing national defence and security. Wouldn't it be better to use what time we do make available, to addressing our massive defence shortfalls, especially as our Air Corps and Naval service struggle today to offer even the barest cover? We need a Defence Forces capable of meeting Ireland's obligations at home and also abroad. We need a principled multilateral framework for overseas deployments that commands public trust. That is the challenge facing us. With political direction and leadership from across the Dáil, we can have both.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
'Football brings everyone together': Sligo Rovers provide coaching for prisoners
The Taoiseach has said that UN agencies should be "enabled and allowed" to distribute food aid in Gaza amid ongoing deaths at aid centres. Video: Bryan O'Brien
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Ratko Mladic: ‘Terminally ill' Bosnian Serb general serving life for genocide seeks release
Lawyers for former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, serving life imprisonment for genocide, have asked a UN court to release him on 'humanitarian grounds' – claiming he has a terminal medical condition and just months to live. Mladic (83) – known during the Yugoslav war as the Butcher of Bosnia – was found guilty in 2017 of extermination, murder, persecution and forcible transfer in connection with the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the 'safe haven' of Srebrenica in July 1995. He was also convicted of directing the 43-month siege of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, in which almost 14,000 people died. It lasted a year longer than the siege of Stalingrad and was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. Mladic's application for early release lodged with judges at the international court in The Hague by his long-time legal team, Dragan Ivetic and Branko Lukic, comes just weeks before the 30th anniversary commemoration of the Srebrenica atrocities, on July 11th. READ MORE According to a motion lodged last week with the court and now publicly available on its website, Mladic has been moved to palliative care at the UN detention centre a few kilometres from the court, and has just 'months to live'. [ The Irish Times view from 2021 on Ratko Mladic: held to account Opens in new window ] Although the details of his medical condition are redacted from the motion as it appears on the court's website, it is known that Mladic has suffered two strokes and a heart attack in recent years while incarcerated. The former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska also had a pacemaker fitted at a Dutch hospital in 2023. However, his condition continues to deteriorate and since then, his kidneys have failed. 'Given Mladic's incurable condition and his short life expectancy, continued detention serves no legitimate purpose, and amounts to inhumane treatment and punishment,' the motion reads. As well as saving the UN detention centre the cost of palliative care, his lawyers argue, early release would allow Mladic to explore all his medical options, so as to live out the remaining months of his life with his family. [ Inside Srebrenica: old scars, new wounds Opens in new window ] Mladic's son, Darko, said he had spoken to two doctors on the UN medical team who confirmed the terminal diagnosis. 'Our Serbian doctors share the opinion that he has very little chance of surviving until the end of this year,' he added. Mladic was convicted and sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. This has largely completed its work and has been subsumed into the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), also in The Hague. The motion is listed on the IRMCT website as an 'urgent defence motion'. However, there is no indication of when the court will rule.
