The defense attorneys and family of General Ratko Mladić, who is serving a life sentence in The Hague imposed by the Hague Tribunal for crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990s, submitted a request yesterday to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague for the early release of the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) due to his poor health.
In the submission, as Mladić’s son Darko told “Politika,” there are reports from Serbian doctors who examined his father a few days ago in The Hague, as well as from their Dutch colleagues; the legal basis on which the early release is requested is stated, along with previous similar cases in which the court ruled on the same matter. Along with the request, guarantees from Serbia were also submitted.
—Essentially, there is no legal deadline for making a decision, but it should be said that the more serious the health situation of the accused, the faster they decide. Our experiences vary in that sense, so we have sometimes waited seven to ten days for decisions, and sometimes up to a month and a half — said Darko Mladić.
The Prime Minister of Serbia, Đuro Macut, appealed yesterday to the Mechanism in The Hague for General Ratko Mladić to be released from prison in that city and continue treatment in Serbia, emphasizing that Mladić’s life is endangered and that his case has a humanitarian aspect that transcends judicial and legal frameworks.
“We appeal for General Mladić to return to the country, to continue his life here, and for his care to continue under the control of doctors in Serbia. This is a humanitarian aspect of the struggle for life and goes beyond the framework of the Tribunal and the trial itself. We provide all guarantees for General Mladić’s stay in Serbia,” Macut said yesterday.
He added that the Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujić, will participate in the regular session of the United Nations Security Council on June 12, when the six-month report on the International Tribunal in The Hague will be presented, and that he will clarify the humanitarian aspect of Mladić’s case.
“We hope that by then we will already have an answer to this question. General Mladić, with serious health problems, is definitely in a life-threatening condition; we are fighting for a human justice, and this already enters the foundations of human rights,” said Macut.
As a reminder, the request for General Mladić’s temporary release was also submitted a few days ago by the Serbian Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujić.
The minister stated yesterday that the opinion of the Serbian doctors who visited General Ratko Mladić in the prison in The Hague is that he is not provided with adequate treatment in prison.
Vujić emphasized that Mladić’s release to be treated in Serbia is not a matter of politics or the verdict, but a matter of life, because in Serbia he would be provided with adequate treatment, which is not possible in the prison hospital in The Hague.
He stated that he visited Mladić in the prison in The Hague on Monday, and that he looked very bad at that time, and they brought him into the visiting room in a bed.
Mladić, as Vujić said, had his 11th or 12th stroke on April 10, and during the minister’s visit, 10 days after the stroke, the doctors did not know whether he had a stroke or if it was a thrombus.
Speaking about the guarantees given to the Mechanism by the Government of Serbia, Vujić stated that Mladić’s family first submitted a request for his treatment in Serbia, and then Serbia gave the broadest guarantees, adding that he told the president of the court during the conversation that if the court considers anything else necessary, the Government of Serbia is ready to give additional guarantees.
The minister said that his opinion is that one of the basic things is the right to life, the right to dignified treatment, and conditions in prisons or detention centers.
“One of the basic things when we talk about human rights is the right to life, and everyone has the right to life, and everyone has the right to both worthy and dignified treatment and conditions in prisons or detention centers. This is a universal and human standard, and humanly, you cannot turn a punishment into revenge,” the minister said.
He added that since their visit to the Mechanism, they have sent additional messages and emails to warn them that there are elements indicating a violation of the norms of rights guaranteed by the UN Convention on Human Rights.
The decision on the temporary release of the former VRS commander, it should be noted, is made by the President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague, Graciela Gatti Santana.
Ratko Mladić’s legal team has so far submitted a total of four motions for the early release of the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska and one for temporary leave. All four requests were rejected.
The last time a request for temporary release due to Mladić’s poor health was rejected was in mid-November of last year. The decision to reject was then made by the President of the Mechanism, Graciela Gatti Santana.
The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism) in The Hague announced that in the case of General Ratko Mladić, it will make a judicial decision based on the specific circumstances of the case and in accordance with the legal framework.
“The Mechanism has a duty to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the medical data of all convicted persons serving sentences under the supervision of the Mechanism. Therefore, the Mechanism is not authorized to discuss the health status of any person under its jurisdiction, including Ratko Mladić,” they stated in a response provided to Radio-Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS) from this institution.
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Source: Politika, Photo: Wikimedia Commmons