The Hague Tribunal refuses to release General Mladić, whose illness is terminal, on provisional release

The Hague Tribunal has refused to release General Ratko Mladić on provisional release to Serbia, even though the court's independent medical presidents have confirmed that his illness is "in the terminal phase", the court announced last night.

Court President Graciela Gati Santana accepted the doctors' conclusion that Mladić is receiving "adequate care" in the Scheveningen detention center and in the detention hospital, in accordance with "recognized international standards."

The former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, General Mladić (84), is serving a life sentence to which he was sentenced by the Hague Tribunal for genocide and war crimes against Muslims and Croats during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992–95.

"The young man has been in a fragile and vulnerable state for years in UN custody and has received ongoing, multidisciplinary and compassionate care from the medical service, in the prison hospital and civilian hospitals in the Netherlands," Judge Santana assessed.

She confirmed that since the “medical incident” in mid-April, which the defense claims was a stroke, “Mladić’s condition has further deteriorated significantly” and that “all” doctors “agree that he is in the final stages of life.”

The president of the court therefore rejected the defense's claim that Mladić does not and cannot have adequate palliative care in prison and that his detention would be inhumane, cruel and degrading.

"Based on the information before me, I am not convinced that humanitarian and compassionate considerations warrant Mladic's release," concluded Gati Santana.

Former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, General Mladić was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Hague Tribunal for genocide in Srebrenica and crimes against humanity against Muslims and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the terrorization of civilians in Sarajevo, 1992–95.

Mladić has been in custody in The Hague since the end of May 2011, when he was arrested in Serbia and extradited to the Tribunal.

Serbian authorities arrested General Mladić on May 26, 2011 in Lazarevo near Zrenjanin, and he was transferred to The Hague on May 31.

Mladić's trial lasted before the Tribunal from May 16, 2012, to December 15, 2016.

The Tribunal handed down its first-instance verdict against Mladić on November 22, 2017, and its final verdict on June 8, 2021.

These verdicts found General Mladić guilty of genocide in Srebrenica, the persecution of Muslims and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, terrorizing the population of Sarajevo with shelling and sniping, and taking UNPROFOR members hostage, 1992–95.

Mladić was convicted on 10 counts of genocide in Srebrenica and crimes against humanity in 15 Bosnian municipalities, including: persecution, extermination, murder, deportation and forcible transfer.

The court found Mladić guilty on four counts of violating the laws and customs of war: murder, terror, unlawful attacks on civilians, and hostage-taking.

The tribunal first indicted Mladić on July 25, 1995, and he was on the run until his arrest in 2011, during which time, as doctors in The Hague later determined, he survived three strokes.

During his 15 years in custody at The Hague, Mladić survived several health crises and medical interventions. The court has rejected several of Mladić's requests for provisional release over the years.

In June 2013, Mladić thanked the Tribunal and its medical staff in the courtroom for "saving his life" and "pulling him out of the grave."