War criminal Ratko Mladic to receive state funeral in Serbia

Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military leader infamously known as the "Butcher of the Balkans," will be granted a state funeral with military honors in Serbia, despite his conviction for genocide and war crimes. Mladic died on Thursday in The Hague, where he was serving a life sentence.

Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujic confirmed the decision, stating that Mladic "will certainly receive all the military and state honors to which he is entitled." The minister added that Serbian officials are awaiting the handover of Mladic's body from The Hague authorities to proceed with funeral arrangements.

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It is certain that General Mladic will receive all the military and state honors to which he is entitled.

Mladic, who was 89, was a key figure in the Bosnian War (1992-1995), which resulted in approximately 100,000 deaths and displaced 2.2 million people. His forces were responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where over 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were executed in what was supposed to be a UN-protected safe zone. This event is considered the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II.

His death comes shortly after the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals rejected a request from his family and the Serbian government to transfer him to a military hospital in Belgrade for treatment. Mladic, along with former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, represented the military leadership during the brutal breakup of Yugoslavia.

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We are ready to travel to The Hague as soon as we know what the next steps are.