NEBENZYA URGES HAGUE MECHANISM TO RELEASE RATKO MLADIĆ

NEW YORK, MAY 12 /SRNA/ - Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya called on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals to release General Ratko Mladić on humanitarian grounds or allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence in Serbia, warning that otherwise it would be responsible for the continued deterioration of his health.

"He is on his deathbed. We do not understand at all why the Serbian general cannot be released early on humanitarian grounds or at least transferred to Serbia to serve the remainder of his sentence. We call on the Mechanism to finally make that decision. It would help alleviate the severe suffering he is going through", Nebenzya said at the UN Security Council session. He also referred to the situation of Republika Srpska's first president Radovan Karadžić, saying that British authorities, in cooperation with the Mechanism, had created inhumane prison conditions for him. "Civil organizations described it as exposure to physical and psychological terror from London. We call on Security Council members to pay attention to these two cases", Nebenzya said. General Ratko Mladić suffered a stroke on April 10 and his condition has further deteriorated, with serious neurological, cardiovascular and nephrological problems. On May 2, he was transferred from the detention unit to a civilian hospital in the Hague due to suspected stroke. Since doctors did not confirm the stroke, he was returned to the detention hospital. Since 2024, Mladić has been held in the detention hospital in the Hague, where he is receiving palliative care. The Mechanism has repeatedly rejected requests for his temporary release for medical treatment in Serbia.