GENERAL'S HEALTH CONDITION STILL SERIOUS, HE HAS NOT RECEIVED ANY NEW THERAPY

BELGRADE, MAY 18 /SRNA/ – The health condition of General Ratko Mladić remains serious and he can barely speak, while he has not received any new therapy, his son Darko Mladić told SRNA.

"We spoke today, yesterday, and the day before, and the situation is the same. He speaks with difficulty, almost not at all. So we talk to him so he can hear us, because he is able to hear and understand, but he cannot speak," Darko said. He recalled that the last thing the defence team and the family received from the Hague doctors was Mladić's blood test from two weeks ago, which even was incomplete. Darko Mladić noted that several days ago the defence team submitted written appeals to UN human rights committees because the Hague Mechanism had not allowed General Mladić to be transferred to Serbia for medical treatment, even though he is in an extremely serious condition and close to death. "By its nature, that process moves slowly. They do not work quickly, so it will take time," Darko Mladić said. The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals rejected on May 14 the defence team’s request for General Ratko Mladić's release to Serbia for medical treatment on humanitarian grounds due to his severe health condition, explaining that although he is in the final stages of his life, his condition is caused by chronic illnesses rather than incurable diseases with rapid progression, and that he is under the supervision of top experts and receiving all necessary care. General Mladić suffered a stroke on April 10 and another on May 2, after which his condition further deteriorated due to serious neurological, cardiovascular, and nephrological health problems. Since 2024, he has been held in the detention hospital in The Hague, where he is under palliative care. The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague has repeatedly rejected requests for General Mladić to be granted provisional release for medical treatment in Serbia.