Former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladić is in serious condition after suffering a stroke, his family said on Wednesday, renewing calls for his temporary release for medical treatment.
Mladić, who is serving a life sentence for genocide and war crimes, has been held in a detention hospital in The Hague. His son, Darko Mladić, told Euronews Serbia that his father’s condition had worsened in recent days and that he was struggling to communicate.
“We spoke by phone for about half an hour, but it can hardly be called a conversation. His communication is very poor, he is disoriented and weak, and his speech is impaired,” Darko Mladić said. “The situation is becoming more alarming day by day.”
He added that during a recent video call, Mladić was unable to respond properly, prompting guards to call medical staff who transferred him to hospital.
Doctors suspect the latest incident is another stroke, one of several he has reportedly suffered in recent years, raising concerns about his life-threatening condition.
Mladić has been hospitalized continuously since 2024 following a series of health complications, including kidney failure and periods of coma, according to his family and legal team.
His lawyers have repeatedly argued that he is not receiving adequate medical care in detention and have requested his temporary or early release to receive treatment in Serbia or Bosnia’s Serb entity, Republika Srpska.
Vlado Đajić, a neurologist who previously examined Mladić as part of an independent medical team, said the former general suffers from multiple serious conditions, including heart disease, kidney problems and repeated strokes.
“Patients like him require specialized treatment and rehabilitation, which cannot be adequately provided in a prison setting,” Đajić said, calling for his transfer to a medical facility better equipped to handle such cases.
The family said a previous request for release was submitted in June last year but was rejected by the court after several weeks of deliberation. According to Darko Mladić, the tribunal applied stricter criteria, requiring proof of terminal illness before considering release.
“They are effectively saying he must be on the verge of death to be released,” he said, adding that such a standard amounted to a de facto death sentence.
The Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), which oversees Mladić’s sentence, has not publicly commented on his current condition.
Requests for temporary release on medical grounds have been granted in some past cases involving seriously ill detainees, though courts typically weigh health concerns against the risk of flight and the gravity of crimes.
Mladić was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 1992–95 Bosnian war, including the Srebrenica massacre. His conviction was upheld on appeal in 2021.