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Ratko Mladic guilty: 'Butcher of Bosnia' found responsible of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes Ratko Mladic guilty: 'Butcher of Bosnia' found responsible of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes
(35 minutes later)
Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military general known as the "Butcher of Bosnia," has been found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military general known as the "Butcher of Bosnia," has been found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentenced to life in prison.
Mladic was accused of commanding forces responsible for crimes including the worst atrocities during Bosnia's devastating 1992-95 war: the deadly three-year siege of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, and the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, which was Europe's worst mass killing since World War II. Mladic was found guilty of commanding forces responsible for crimes including the worst atrocities during Bosnia's devastating 1992-95 war: the deadly three-year siege of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, and the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, which was Europe's worst mass killing since World War II.
The UN court sentenced Mladic to life imprisonment. The United Nations' Yugoslav war crimes tribunal convicted Mladic of 10 of 11 counts during the war.
He is expected to appeal.  ​He is expected to appeal. 
Presiding Judge Alphons Orie read out the judgment after ordering Mladic out of the courtroom over an angry outburst. 
"The crimes committed rank among the most heinous known to humankind, and include genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity," the judge said while reading out a summary of the judgement.
The mothers of Srebrenica's victims clapped when the convictions were read out. Mladic's son, Darko, said: "I'm not surprised. The court was totally biased from the start." 
Despite his ailing health, Mladic looked relaxed, greeting lawyers and giving a thumbs-up to photographers in court. He nodded regularly as the judge read out descriptions of atrocities by Bosnian Serb forces, one by one. 
When Mladic's lawyer asked for a delay because the general was suffering high blood pressure, the judge refused, and Mladic burst out with criticism and was ordered to leave the room. 
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, while Mladic's defense lawyers said he should be acquitted on all counts. 
Orie said the court confirmed that "genocide, persecution, extermination, murder and the inhuman act of forcible transfer were committed in or around Srebrenica" in 1995.
Previous judgments have said it was genocide, however, Mr Orie said the court was "not convinced" of genocidal intent in six other municipalities, in line with previous judgments. 
The long-awaited judgement marks the end of the final trial at the tribunal, which was set up in 1993, while fierce fighting was still raging in Bosnia. 
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, hailed the conviction as a "momentous victory for justice."Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, hailed the conviction as a "momentous victory for justice."
“Mladic presided over some of the darkest crimes to occur in Europe since World War II, bringing terror, death and destruction to thousands of victims, and sorrow, tragedy and trauma to countless more," he said.“Mladic presided over some of the darkest crimes to occur in Europe since World War II, bringing terror, death and destruction to thousands of victims, and sorrow, tragedy and trauma to countless more," he said.
"His conviction is a testament to the courage and determination of those victims and witnesses who never gave up hope that they would see him brought to justice.""His conviction is a testament to the courage and determination of those victims and witnesses who never gave up hope that they would see him brought to justice."
He added: “Today’s verdict is a warning to the perpetrators of such crimes that they will not escape justice, no matter how powerful they may be nor how long it may take. They will be held accountable."He added: “Today’s verdict is a warning to the perpetrators of such crimes that they will not escape justice, no matter how powerful they may be nor how long it may take. They will be held accountable."
Mladic's political master during the war, former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic, was convicted last year for masterminding atrocities in Bosnia and sentenced to 40 years. He has appealed against the ruling. The conflict in the former Yugoslavia erupted after the breakup of the former multi-ethnic federation in the early 1990s, with the worst crimes taking place in Bosnia.
More than 100,000 people died and millions lost their homes before a peace agreement was signed in 1995.
Mladic went into hiding for around ten years before his arrest in Serbia in May 2011. 
His political master during the war, former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic, was convicted last year for masterminding atrocities in Bosnia and sentenced to 40 years. He has appealed against the ruling.
The man widely blamed for fomenting wars across the Balkans, former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, died in his UN cell in 2006 before tribunal judges could reach verdicts in his trial. 
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