Ratko Mladić’s body brought from The Hague to Serbia as tabloids announce funeral date

Ratko Mladić’s remains have been brought back to Serbia after the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals handed them to his closest relatives in The Hague.

The transfer took place at Rotterdam-The Hague airport at around 3 p.m., the mechanism said. A plane carrying the body landed shortly before 6 p.m. at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport, according to Serbian tabloids. Responsibility for repatriation and the final burial site lies solely with Mladić’s family, the institution said.

The mechanism said it had complied with international law and human rights standards while working with the family and diplomatic representatives to meet the administrative, logistical and legal requirements for a dignified transfer. It also expressed solidarity with the victims, survivors and families affected by the crimes for which Mladić was convicted, and condemned efforts to glorify people convicted by international courts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Mladić, a former general of the Army of Republika Srpska, died on Aug. 27 while receiving hospital treatment in The Hague. He was 84 and had suffered several strokes. Since 2024, he had been held in a detention hospital under palliative care, after the Hague mechanism repeatedly rejected requests for temporary release to receive treatment in Serbia.

President Aleksandar Vučić said security assessments indicated that tens of thousands of people could attend the funeral and that the state would have to ensure it passed safely. The Alo portal reported that a memorial service would be held at noon on Sept. 5 at Belgrade’s Military House. On Sept. 7, the body would lie in state at St. Luke’s Church in Vidikovac before a funeral procession went to Topčider Cemetery.

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The mechanism acted with full respect for international law and human rights standards and worked closely with members of Ratko Mladić’s family and diplomatic representatives, where necessary, to meet all the administrative, logistical and legal conditions required for a dignified and appropriate transfer of the remains for repatriation.