Former Bosnian Serb commander Radovan Mladić dies at 84 while in UN detention

Radovan Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb military leader sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017 for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, died at age 84 in the UN detention facility’s hospital where he was receiving palliative care. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said Dutch authorities have opened an investigation and that the court’s chief judge has ordered a full inquiry into the circumstances of his death.

Mladić had evaded capture for 16 years after the Bosnian war before being located in rural Serbia in 2011 and tried in The Hague. His life sentence was upheld on appeal in 2021. In May, the tribunal rejected a request for his release, noting his deteriorating health, including a suspected stroke that left him largely unable to speak.

During the 1992-95 conflict, forces under Mladić’s command were responsible for a campaign of ethnic cleansing, the siege of Sarajevo, and the massacre of thousands of Bosniak men and boys in Srebrenica. Survivors and officials offered differing reactions to his death. Hasan Hasanović, a Srebrenica survivor, told the BBC World Service that the death does not bring closure for the victims. In contrast, Bosnian Serb political figure Milorad Dodik said Mladić was respected by Serbian people and defended Serbian interests.