Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic dies at 85 in The Hague

Former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic died Thursday at age 85 while serving a life sentence for genocide in The Hague, according to Bosnian news portal Klix.ba, just one day after authorities rejected his final plea for early release on chronic health grounds.

Health decline and final days

Mladic had suffered from serious health problems for years, prompting repeated requests from his family and authorities in both Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Republika Srpska entity to transfer him to Belgrade. A request for his early release was rejected on Wednesday, according to the same reports.

Genocide conviction

In June 2021, the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals upheld Mladic's life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. He was convicted on 10 of 11 counts, including genocide in Srebrenica — where more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed in July 1995 — as well as persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, terrorizing civilians during the siege of Sarajevo and taking UN personnel hostage.

Long evasion and capture

Mladic evaded justice for nearly 16 years after the war, remaining one of Europe's most wanted fugitives until his arrest in May 2011 in the Serbian village of Lazarevo, near the northern city of Zrenjanin. He was subsequently transferred to The Hague to face trial, and his capture had long served as a key condition for Serbia's progress toward membership in the European Union.