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Ratko Mladić convicted of war crimes and genocide at UN tribunal Ratko Mladić convicted of war crimes and genocide at UN tribunal
(35 minutes later)
Ratko Mladić, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb army and one-time fugitive from international justice, has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by a UN tribunal at The Hague.Ratko Mladić, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb army and one-time fugitive from international justice, has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by a UN tribunal at The Hague.
More than 20 years after the Srebrenica massacre and his first indictment by the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the soldier nicknamed the “butcher of Bosnia” has been found guilty of of multiple offences.More than 20 years after the Srebrenica massacre and his first indictment by the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the soldier nicknamed the “butcher of Bosnia” has been found guilty of of multiple offences.
As he entered the courtroom, Mladić gave a broad smile and thumbs up to the cameras – a gesture that infuriated relatives of the victims. As he entered the courtroom, Mladić gave a broad smile and thumbs up to the cameras – a gesture that infuriated relatives of the victims. His defiance shifted into detachment as the judgment began: Mladic played with his fingers and nodded occasionally, looking initially relaxed.
The long-anticipated verdict was delayed for more than half an hour after Mladić asked the judge for a bathroom break. When he returned, his defense team then asked for proceedings to be halted or shortened because of his high blood pressure, but judges denied the request. Mladic stood up shouting at the judges, and was forcibly removed from the courtroom to allow the verdicts to be read. But the verdict was disrupted for more than half an hour when Mladić asked the judge for a bathroom break. After he returned, defence lawyers requested that proceedings be halted or shortened because of his high blood pressure. The judges denied the request. Mladic then stood up shouting “this is all lies” and was forcibly removed from the courtroom. The verdicts were read in his absence.
Mladić, now 74, was chief of staff of Bosnian Serb forces from 1992 until 1996, during the ferocious civil wars and ethnic cleansing that followed the break-up of the Yugoslav state.Mladić, now 74, was chief of staff of Bosnian Serb forces from 1992 until 1996, during the ferocious civil wars and ethnic cleansing that followed the break-up of the Yugoslav state.
He faced 11 charges, two of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and four of violations of the laws or customs of war. He was cleared of one count of genocide, but found guilty of all other charges. The separate counts related to “ethnic cleansing” operations in Bosnia, sniping and shelling attacks on besieged civilians in Sarajevo, the massacre of Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica and taking UN personnel hostage in an attempt to deter Nato airstrikes.He faced 11 charges, two of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and four of violations of the laws or customs of war. He was cleared of one count of genocide, but found guilty of all other charges. The separate counts related to “ethnic cleansing” operations in Bosnia, sniping and shelling attacks on besieged civilians in Sarajevo, the massacre of Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica and taking UN personnel hostage in an attempt to deter Nato airstrikes.
Delivering the verdicts, judge Alphons Orie said Mladic’s crimes “rank among the most heinous known to humankind and include genocide and extermination”.Delivering the verdicts, judge Alphons Orie said Mladic’s crimes “rank among the most heinous known to humankind and include genocide and extermination”.
He dismissed mitigation pleas by the defence that Mladic was of “good character”, had diminished mental capacity and was in poor physical health.He dismissed mitigation pleas by the defence that Mladic was of “good character”, had diminished mental capacity and was in poor physical health.
Relatives of victims flew into the Netherlands to attend the hearing, determined to see Mladić receive justice decades after the end of the war which claimed more than 100,000 lives. Mladić’s home village of Bozinovici, however, retains a street named after the former general, where he is praised as a symbol of defiance and national pride. Relatives of victims flew into the Netherlands to attend the hearing, determined to see Mladić receive justice decades after the end of the war which claimed more than 100,000 lives. There were clashes between Bosniaks and Serbs outside the court.
Mladić was one of the world’s most wanted fugitives before his arrest in 2011 in northern Serbia. He was transferred to the ICTY in the Netherlands, where he refused to plead. A not guilty plea was eventually entered on his behalf. Through much of the trial in The Hague, he was a disruptive presence in court, heckling judges and on one occasion making a cut-throat gesture at the mother of one of the 8,000 victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.Mladić was one of the world’s most wanted fugitives before his arrest in 2011 in northern Serbia. He was transferred to the ICTY in the Netherlands, where he refused to plead. A not guilty plea was eventually entered on his behalf. Through much of the trial in The Hague, he was a disruptive presence in court, heckling judges and on one occasion making a cut-throat gesture at the mother of one of the 8,000 victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
The only charge Mladic was acquitted of was that of genocide in Bosnian municipalities outside Srebrenica. The chamber ruled that although Mladic was part of a joint criminal enterprise to carry out mass killings there, which represented crimes against humanity, they did not rise to the level of genocide because the victims did not represent a substantial proportion of the Bosnian Muslim population there.
The breakup of the former Yugoslavia formally begins when Slovenia and Croatia declare independence. The Serb-led Yugoslav army withdraws from Slovenia after a 10-day conflict, but the war in Croatia that followed would last until 1995.
Bosnian Serbs swiftly take control of more than two-thirds of Bosnia and launch the siege of Sarajevo, headed by Ratko Mladić, who becomes the Bosnian Serb army commander a month later. The siege lasts 1,460 days, during which more than 11,500 people die.
Mladić's troops capture Srebrenica, where more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys were killed, most by summary execution. Nato bombs Bosnian Serb positions following reports of the slaughter.
The international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia indicts Mladić and Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadžić on charges including genocide.
The Dayton agreement is signed, ending the war and creating two mini-states in Bosnia: a Bosnian-Serb one and a Muslim-Croat one.
Nato peacekeepers and western intelligence agencies operating in Bosnia step up attempts to  track down war crimes suspects, but Mladić is sheltered by loyalists in Serbia. He is seen attending football games and eating at Belgrade restaurants.
Following intense pressure from the international community on Serbia, Mladić is arrested in Serbia. 
He appears in court at the UN tribunal for the first time in June but refuses to enter pleas to the charges against him. At a second hearing in July, judges enter not guilty pleas on his behalf.
The trial in The Hague is arguably the most significant war crimes case in Europe since the Nuremberg tribunal, in part because of the scale of the atrocities involved. Over 530 days, the UN tribunal hears from 591 witnesses and examines nearly 10,000 exhibits concerning 106 separate crimes.
During closing statements, prosecutors urge judges to convict Mladić on all counts and sentence him to life in prison. Defence attorneys call for acquittal.
More than 20 years after the Srebrenica massacre, the now 74-year-old Mladić is sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Delivering the verdicts, the judge said Mladić’s crimes “rank among the most heinous known to humankind and include genocide and extermination”.
The Bosnian Serb political leader, Radovan Karadzic, was also found not guilty of genocide in the municipalities. That earlier tribunal verdict triggered protests from Bosniaks, who wanted the court to acknowledge that genocide was committed across Bosnia, not just in Srebrenica.
In evaluating Mladic’s culpability for genocide, the court pointed to his command and control of the Bosnian Serb army and interior ministry forces who carried out almost all the executions, his presence in the area, and his frequent remarks about how the country’s Muslims could “disappear”.
Judge Orie said: “The chamber found that the only reasonable inference was that the accused intended to destroy the Bosnian Muslim of Srebrenica as a substantial part of the protected group of Muslims in Bosnia Herzegovina.”
“Accordingly the chamber found the accused intended to carry out the Srebrenica joint criminal enterprises through the commission of the crime of genocide and was a member of the Srebrenica joint criminal enterprise,” the judge said.
The hearing, broadcast live, was followed closely in Bosnia. The Bosnian prime minister, Denis Zvizdic, said the verdict “confirmed that war criminals cannot escape justice regardless of how long they hide.”
In Lazarevo, the Serbian village where former Mladic was arrested in 2011, residents dismissed the guilty verdicts as biased. Igor Topolic, a local said: “all this is a farce for me, he [Mladic] is a Serbian national hero.” Mladić’s home village of Bozinovici retains a street named after the former general, where he is praised as a symbol of defiance and national pride.
The trial in The Hague, which took 530 days spread over more than four years, is arguably the most significant war crimes case in Europe since the Nuremberg tribunal, in part because of the scale of the atrocities involved. Almost 600 people gave evidence for the prosecution and defence, including survivors of the conflict.The trial in The Hague, which took 530 days spread over more than four years, is arguably the most significant war crimes case in Europe since the Nuremberg tribunal, in part because of the scale of the atrocities involved. Almost 600 people gave evidence for the prosecution and defence, including survivors of the conflict.
The trial is one of the last to be heard by the ICTY, which is due to be dissolved at the end of the year.The trial is one of the last to be heard by the ICTY, which is due to be dissolved at the end of the year.
At the close of the prosecution case last December, Alan Tieger, one of the prosecutors, declared: “The time has come for Ratko Mladić to be held accountable for each of his victims and all the communities he destroyed. Nobody can even imagine the depth of suffering for which Mladić is responsible.” After the ruling, Serge Brammertz, the ICTY’s chief prosecutor insisted it was not a verdict against all Serb people. “Mladic’s guilt is his and his alone,” he said.
There had been uncertainty over whether Mladić would appear in court for the verdict. His defence lawyer, Dragan Ivetic, said that doctors should check Mladić’s health because a court appearance might kill him. “We’ve had a medical doctor that has said, actually based on his diagnosed condition, any form of stress, including a trial proceeding, may increase his chance of having a stroke, a heart attack or dying,” Ivetic said on Monday. There had been uncertainty over whether Mladić would appear in court for the verdict. His defence lawyer, Dragan Ivetic, said that doctors should check Mladić’s health because a court appearance might kill him.
The verdict comes a year after former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić was found guilty of genocide over the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica and sentenced to 40 years in jail.The verdict comes a year after former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić was found guilty of genocide over the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica and sentenced to 40 years in jail.