Ratko Mladić, Bosnian War 'Butcher of Srebrenica,' dies at 84

Ratko Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb general notorious for his role in the Bosnian War, has died at the age of 84. He passed away in the hospital of the UN detention facility in The Hague, Netherlands, far from his homeland. Mladić was convicted by the UN war crimes tribunal for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, including his command responsibility for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where over 7,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed.

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I don't understand why someone is not allowed to spend their last days outside of a cell.

During the Bosnian War (1992-1995), Mladić, as commander of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), was seen as a figure of immense power, controlling life and death. His forces were also responsible for the prolonged siege of Sarajevo, which inflicted immense suffering on civilians. The UN war crimes tribunal issued an arrest warrant against him before the war's end in 1995.

In Serbia, President Aleksandar Vučić had publicly advocated for Mladić's release to his homeland in his final days, especially after Mladić suffered a stroke that left him largely unresponsive. "I don't understand why someone is not allowed to spend their last days outside of a cell," Vučić had stated.

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They killed him in the Hague Tribunal.

Even after his death, Mladić remains a deeply divisive figure in the former Yugoslavia. The Serbian government-aligned portal "Informer" reacted with outrage, titling their report "They killed him in the Hague Tribunal." Conversely, the Bosnian portal "klix.ba" referred to him as the "chief executioner of the genocide." Mladić's legacy is thus starkly contrasted between those who view him as a war criminal responsible for horrific atrocities and those who, particularly among some Bosnian Serb communities, continue to revere him as a war hero.

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chief executioner of the genocide