Thousands Attend Funeral of Bosnia’s ‘Butcher’ Ratko Mladić in Serbia

Thousands gathered in Belgrade to bury Ratko Mladić, the convicted war criminal widely known as the “Butcher of Bosnia.” Mladić died at 84 while serving a life sentence in a United Nations prison in The Hague.

A UN war crimes tribunal convicted him of genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, when about 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed. The massacre has been described as Europe’s worst atrocity since World War Two.

Mladić commanded Bosnian Serb forces during the 1990s war against Bosnian Croat and Bosniak armies. His troops carried out what became known as ethnic cleansing, seeking to drive Bosnia-Herzegovina’s non-Serb population out by force. They also besieged Sarajevo, where more than 10,000 people died.

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Deeply etched in the memory and prayers of the majority of our Serbian Orthodox people, who feel and nurture a deep sense of gratitude towards him

He was arrested in 2011, 16 years after his initial indictment, and received a life sentence in 2021 after a nine-year trial. Yet many Serbs continue to regard him as a heroic defender of the nation, particularly in Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb entity. His death prompted vigils there.

A Serbian government minister initially said Mladić would receive a state funeral, but the plan changed after objections from European leaders. The EU denounced his “glorification” on Monday. Several Serbian ministers still joined crowds outside the church where his coffin lay in state, including Defence Minister Bratislav Gašić and Justice Minister Nenad Vujić.

Patriarch Porfirije, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, led the funeral service. He said Mladić’s name would remain “deeply etched in the memory and prayers of the majority of our Serbian Orthodox people, who feel and nurture a deep sense of gratitude towards him”. Long queues formed outside St Luka church, with army veterans and men carrying flags bearing Mladić’s image. The coffin had been flown to Serbia on a government plane and carried by six soldiers. Free buses brought mourners from Bosnia and towns across Serbia.

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Glorification