Former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladić, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide and war crimes committed during the Bosnian War, has died at the age of 84 at the United Nations detention center in The Hague.
According to a report by Belgrade-based Informer TV on Thursday, Mladić, who was convicted of the Srebrenica genocide, the siege of Sarajevo, and other war crimes, died at the detention center in The Hague.
Convicted of the Srebrenica genocide
Mladić, who commanded Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was held responsible for the genocide in Srebrenica, in which thousands of Bosniak civilians were killed, as well as the siege of Sarajevo and numerous other war crimes.
In June 2021, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) upheld Mladić’s life sentence and rejected his appeal.
He remained in hiding for 16 years
After an indictment was issued against him in 1995, Mladić remained in hiding for 16 years to avoid arrest. The former Serb general was captured in Serbia on May 26, 2011, during an operation.
Mladić’s trial began in May 2012. Appeals judges ruled that there was no basis to alter his life sentence after finding him guilty on 10 of the 11 charges brought against him.
Ratko Mladić, also known as the “Butcher of Bosnia,” had been serving his life sentence at the United Nations detention center in The Hague until his death.
