THE GENERAL CAN BARELY COMMUNICATE, AND HIS CONDITION REQUIRES URGENT TREATMENT IN SERBIA

BELGRADE, APRIL 26 /SRNA/ - The health condition of General Ratko Mladić is very serious, and it is uncertain whether he will be able to endure at all if he is not urgently granted treatment in Serbia, his son Darko Mladić told SRNA.

He said that the family has no information about any possible change in General Mladić’s therapy. Darko Mladić also said that his mother returned from The Hague yesterday, and that communication between the spouses was minimal. "They allowed her to stay with him a bit longer than they allowed me. She tried to motivate him at least a little, but everything is very difficult, because he cannot speak and cannot take more than a sip of water," the general’s son said. Darko added that if The Hague delays deciding on the request for the general’s temporary release for treatment, he will go to The Hague again to be with him. If the Mechanism’s decision is positive, Darko Mladić assumes that his father could be transferred to Serbia for treatment very quickly. The family of General Ratko Mladić and his lawyer, Dragan Ivetić, submitted a request on April 23 to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague for his urgent release for treatment in Serbia, due to his extremely serious health condition. The Mechanism does not have a mandatory deadline for deciding on the request. General Ratko Mladić suffered a stroke on April 10, and his already serious condition has further deteriorated, as he has severe neurological, cardiovascular, and nephrological problems. Former Chief of General Staff of the Republika Srpska Army, General Ratko Mladić, has been in the detention hospital in The Hague since 2024, where he is receiving palliative care due to his serious health condition. The Mechanism has repeatedly rejected requests for his temporary release for treatment in Serbia.