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🇱🇻 Latvia /Conflict & Security

‘Butcher of Bosnia’ General Ratko Mladić buried in Belgrade

From Delfi Latvia · () Latvian

Translated from Latvian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Thousands gathered at St. Luke’s Church and nearby streets in Belgrade for Ratko Mladić’s funeral.
  • Mladić was buried at Topčider Cemetery next to his daughter Ana after dying in a Hague prison on Aug. 27 while serving a life sentence.
  • President Aleksandar Vučić rejected state funeral plans after international outrage and said the farewell would be organized by Mladić’s family.

Thousands came to St. Luke’s Church in Belgrade, and to the squares and streets around it, to say farewell to Ratko Mladić. The former Bosnian Serb military commander was buried at nearby Topčider Cemetery beside his daughter Ana.

Mladić died on Aug. 27 in a prison in The Hague, where he was serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujić initially said Mladić would receive state and military honors. After international outrage, however, President Aleksandar Vučić said Serbia would not hold a state funeral and that the family would organize the farewell.

Vučić rejected accusations that the former general was being glorified, saying the farewell service reflected the family’s wishes. State funerals in Serbia usually take place at Belgrade’s Church of Saint Sava, while Mladić’s farewell was held at the relatively small St. Luke’s Church in the southwest of the capital.

About this summary

Originally published by Delfi Latvia in Latvian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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