Ratko Mladic, the so-called “Butcher of Bosnia,” was sentenced
to life in prison after being found guilty of genocide and crimes
against humanity Wednesday, acts that included Europe’s deadliest
massacre since World War II.
A United Nations court found that the former military general
“significantly contributed” to some of the worst atrocities during
the 1992-1995 Bosnian War, which saw some 100,000 people killed and
2 million more forced to flee their homes.
His crimes “rank among the most heinous known to humankind,”
Judge Alphons Orie told the the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia, the U.N. court based in the Netherlands.
Following the verdict, U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad
al-Hussein called Mladic the “epitome of evil.”
Mladic, a Bosnian Serb, is seen by many as the embodiment of the
horrors visited upon Croats and Muslim Bosniaks during ethnic
violence that engulfed the region following the breakup of
communist Yugoslavia.
He was found guilty of all but one of the 11 charges against him
— including genocide, persecution and terror. He was found not
guilty of one of two genocide charges.
Mladic, who denies the allegations and says he was only
defending his people, was not in court to hear his fate, however.
In a moment of drama before the verdict, he had to be removed by
two guards after standing up and shouting in the direction of Judge
Orie.
The judge had declined a request by Mladic’s defense to halt or
shorten the proceedings because of his high blood pressure. Mladic
has had several strokes.
The most infamous crimes from a lengthy charge sheet were the
1995 massacre at Srebrenica, in which some 8,000 men and boys were
killed, as well as the three-year siege of the Bosnian capital of
Sarajevo.
Ramiz Ahmetovic, whose parents and sister were all killed by
Mladic’s forces, told NBC News before the verdict that the former
military chief deserved to spend the rest of his days in
prison.
“The only suitable verdict for Ratko Mladic, if you ask me,
would be a life sentence,” said the 61-year-old, who lives in
Brcko, a town on the Bosnian-Croatian border. “Anything else would
be a reward to him for what he has done.”
One of the victims in Sarajevo was the 11-year-old daughter of
Fikret Grabovica, who was playing with friends in March 1993 when a
bomb struck close to their family home.
“During heavy artillery shelling we kept our children in
basements so they would be safe,” he told NBC News. “But, you know
the children, after a day or just couple of hours of artillery
silence, they want to go out to play.
“Suddenly, shelling started and one missile hit very close,”
said Grabovica, who is now chairman of a non-governmental
organization called Parents of the Children Killed in Sarajevo.
“One of the pieces of shrapnel hit her and she bled out. She was
dead.”
Although reviled by many, Mladic remains a hero to some Bosnian
Serbs.
In his native Bosnian village of Bozinovici, the main street is
named after Mladic and almost every house cherishes at least one
photo of him, according to The Associated Press. T-shirts with his
wartime portrait and inscription “Serbian Hero” are sold on the
streets of Serbian towns.
These divisions were apparent before Wednesday’s hearing when a
scuffle broke out between a young man carrying a Serbian flag and a
group of Bosniaks awaiting the verdict, the AP reported.
The man, who said he came to support Mladic, shouted: “Do not
touch my flag.” The Bosnian woman told him to stop provoking
victims, adding that it “is sad that the villains still glorify
genocide and aggression,” the news agency said.
“Mladic has his supporters, particularly among those who he
commanded during the war,” according to Kenneth Morrison, professor
of Modern Southeast European History at De Montfort University.
These people he said, “still regard Mladic as a hero and as their
defender and protector, while non-Serbs in Bosnia regard him as a
war criminal, and will continue to do so regardless of the sentence
he receives.”
Mladic was arrested in 2011 after being on the run for 16 years.
His trial has lasted five years, included almost 10,000 pieces of
evidence and hundreds of witnesses.
The same court found Radovan Karadzic, the political leader of
the Bosnian Serbs, guilty of war crimes last year, sentencing him
to 40 years in prison.
According to Neven Andjelic, a senior lecturer at Regent’s
University London, the verdict is significant because of what it
tells other would-be perpetrators of war crimes.
“It is even more important for a ‘closure’ in the future for
conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere,” he said. “Where is crime
there will be punishment. This is the most important message.”
Ratko Mladic, the so-called “Butcher of Bosnia,” was sentenced
to life in prison after being found guilty of genocide and crimes
against humanity Wednesday, acts that included Europe’s deadliest
massacre since World War II.
A United Nations court found that the former military general
“significantly contributed” to some of the worst atrocities during
the 1992-1995 Bosnian War, which saw some 100,000 people killed and
2 million more forced to flee their homes.
His crimes “rank among the most heinous known to humankind,”
Judge Alphons Orie told the the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia, the U.N. court based in the Netherlands.
Following the verdict, U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad
al-Hussein called Mladic the “epitome of evil.”
Mladic, a Bosnian Serb, is seen by many as the embodiment of the
horrors visited upon Croats and Muslim Bosniaks during ethnic
violence that engulfed the region following the breakup of
communist Yugoslavia.
He was found guilty of all but one of the 11 charges against him
— including genocide, persecution and terror. He was found not
guilty of one of two genocide charges.
Mladic, who denies the allegations and says he was only
defending his people, was not in court to hear his fate, however.
In a moment of drama before the verdict, he had to be removed by
two guards after standing up and shouting in the direction of Judge
Orie.
The judge had declined a request by Mladic’s defense to halt or
shorten the proceedings because of his high blood pressure. Mladic
has had several strokes.
The most infamous crimes from a lengthy charge sheet were the
1995 massacre at Srebrenica, in which some 8,000 men and boys were
killed, as well as the three-year siege of the Bosnian capital of
Sarajevo.
Ramiz Ahmetovic, whose parents and sister were all killed by
Mladic’s forces, told NBC News before the verdict that the former
military chief deserved to spend the rest of his days in
prison.
“The only suitable verdict for Ratko Mladic, if you ask me,
would be a life sentence,” said the 61-year-old, who lives in
Brcko, a town on the Bosnian-Croatian border. “Anything else would
be a reward to him for what he has done.”
One of the victims in Sarajevo was the 11-year-old daughter of
Fikret Grabovica, who was playing with friends in March 1993 when a
bomb struck close to their family home.
“During heavy artillery shelling we kept our children in
basements so they would be safe,” he told NBC News. “But, you know
the children, after a day or just couple of hours of artillery
silence, they want to go out to play.
“Suddenly, shelling started and one missile hit very close,”
said Grabovica, who is now chairman of a non-governmental
organization called Parents of the Children Killed in Sarajevo.
“One of the pieces of shrapnel hit her and she bled out. She was
dead.”
Although reviled by many, Mladic remains a hero to some Bosnian
Serbs.
In his native Bosnian village of Bozinovici, the main street is
named after Mladic and almost every house cherishes at least one
photo of him, according to The Associated Press. T-shirts with his
wartime portrait and inscription “Serbian Hero” are sold on the
streets of Serbian towns.
These divisions were apparent before Wednesday’s hearing when a
scuffle broke out between a young man carrying a Serbian flag and a
group of Bosniaks awaiting the verdict, the AP reported.
The man, who said he came to support Mladic, shouted: “Do not
touch my flag.” The Bosnian woman told him to stop provoking
victims, adding that it “is sad that the villains still glorify
genocide and aggression,” the news agency said.
“Mladic has his supporters, particularly among those who he
commanded during the war,” according to Kenneth Morrison, professor
of Modern Southeast European History at De Montfort University.
These people he said, “still regard Mladic as a hero and as their
defender and protector, while non-Serbs in Bosnia regard him as a
war criminal, and will continue to do so regardless of the sentence
he receives.”
Mladic was arrested in 2011 after being on the run for 16 years.
His trial has lasted five years, included almost 10,000 pieces of
evidence and hundreds of witnesses.
The same court found Radovan Karadzic, the political leader of
the Bosnian Serbs, guilty of war crimes last year, sentencing him
to 40 years in prison.
According to Neven Andjelic, a senior lecturer at Regent’s
University London, the verdict is significant because of what it
tells other would-be perpetrators of war crimes.
“It is even more important for a ‘closure’ in the future for
conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere,” he said. “Where is crime
there will be punishment. This is the most important message.”
Read more https://www.nairalaw.com/just-in-ratko-mladic-jailed-for-life-over-bosnia-war-genocide/