Ratko Mladic, the “Butcher of the Balkans”, sentenced on appeal to life imprisonment

Published on : 06/08/2021 – 4:24 PM

The international judges confirmed on appeal, Tuesday, June 8, the life sentence of the former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995. His conviction is now final.

The man was tried on appeal by the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MTPI), which took over from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) after its closure in 2017.

Initially scheduled for March 2020, the hearings were postponed for the first time because Ratko Mladic had undergone colon surgery, and a second time because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Nicknamed the “Butcher of the Balkans”, the former general was convicted at first instance in 2017, notably for his role in the Srebrenica massacre, the worst in Europe since World War II, an act of genocide according to international justice.

With AFP