Former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, nicknamed "the Butcher of the Balkans" for his role in the siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, will be given a funeral with "full military and state honors to which he is entitled," Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujić announced on local television station K1. Seriously ill for months, Mladic died yesterday in The Hague, where he was serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

"We are ready to leave for The Hague as soon as we know the next steps, fully respecting all the wishes of General Mladić's family, with whom we in the government are in regular contact," Vujić stated. The minister added that the family will decide everything regarding the funeral and burial site. "It is up to them to decide. It is certain that General Mladić will receive all the military and state honors he deserves, when we speak of state honors," he said.

Regarding requests for Mladić to spend his final days in Serbia with his family, Vujić stated that four letters had been sent since August 20th, and that it had been stated from the beginning that the former commander's health was at risk . "Unfortunately, yesterday, just as we were finalizing the letter to the UN Secretary General, in which we spoke of the need for his intervention, the sad news of the general's passing arrived," Vujić stated.

According to the minister, after the medical assessments of Mladić's serious condition, it was legitimate to raise the issue of humanitarian treatment for a person in the terminal stages of life. "It is legitimate to raise the issue of humanity. Already after the first medical report, not prepared by independent experts or Serbian doctors, but by doctors at the prison hospital, we received information about the need for palliative care. They even emphasized the importance of the family's presence as soon as possible. All signs pointed to the end being near," the minister stated. Serbia immediately requested Mladić's release on humanitarian grounds: "These are also international standards, as is well known. Then there is the primary humanitarian aspect, especially when life is measured in days. In such cases, palliative care is used, which includes not only medical therapy, but also a family environment, so that a seriously ill person can spend their final days with their family. These are medical and humanitarian rules," Vujić emphasized.

The Serbian Justice Minister also announced that he will send a letter to the Residual Mechanism in The Hague, which replaces the dissolved ICTY, "with the expectation that not only the cause of his death will be ascertained, but also whether Mladić received adequate treatment."

(Unioneonline)

© Riproduzione riservata