Ratko Mladic bound for The Hague to face war crimes charges

Extradition process under way after Serbian judges reject appeal from former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic is on a plane to The Hague to face war crimes charges, the Serbian government has said. Snezana Malovic, the country’s justice minister, said the process of extraditing the former commander of Bosnian Serb military forces to the UN war crimes tribunal “has started.” The move follows judges’ rejection of an appeal by Mladic against his extradition to the UN tribunal. Mladic is charged at the tribunal for atrocities committed by his Serb troops during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre that left 8,000 Muslim men and boys dead. Earlier on Tuesday, he was briefly released from the jail cell, travelling in a secret high-security convoy to a suburban cemetery where he left a lone candle for his daughter, Ana, who killed herself during Bosnia’s bloody ethnic war. Mladic, 69, was accompanied by a convoy of armoured vehicles, Serbia’s deputy war crimes prosecutor, Bruno Vekaric said. “We didn’t announce his visit to the grave because it is his private thing and because it represented a security risk. The whole operation lasted for exactly 22 minutes and passed without a glitch. He was at the grave for a few minutes.” Europe’s most-wanted war crimes suspect could be handed over to the tribunal in The Hague as soon as late Tuesday or early Wednesday, officials said. A defence extradition appeal sent by mail arguing he is not mentally and physically fit to stand trial arrived at the Belgrade court on Tuesday. Mladic was arrested on Thursday in a village north of the Serbian capital after 16 years on the run. His 23-year-old daughter Ana, a medical student, killed herself in 1994 with her father’s gun. She reportedly did not leave a note, but reports at the time said she ended her life at Mladic’s Belgrade family house because of depression caused by his role in the war. Mladic has rejected the official investigation into his case and claimed she was killed by his wartime enemies, saying the gun was found in her left hand, although she was right-handed. Kadira Gabeljic, whose husband and two sons were killed in the Srebrenica massacre, condemned Mladic’s grave-side visit, saying she almost fainted at the news. So far, experts have managed to exhume only parts of her sons, Mesud and Meho, who were 16 and 21 when killed. “He [Mladic] was allowed to do it, and I am still searching for my children for the past 16 years, ever since Srebrenica happened,” she said. “My husband had been found, but what about my children?” She asked. “I will wait for years. I might even die before their complete remains are found.” In addition to the appeal, Mladic’s lawyer, Milos Saljic, had asked for a team of doctors to examine his client, who is said to have had at least two strokes. Vekaric accused Mladic of using delaying tactics and said nothing should prevent his extradition to tribunal. “Doctors are saying he’s capable of standing trial,” Vekaric said, adding that Mladic will get medical checkups once he arrives at the UN tribunal’s detention unit in The Hague. The prosecutor said no one would be informed when Mladic will be transported from his prison to the Netherlands “because of security risks”. On Monday, the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, rejected speculation that authorities had known of Mladic’s hiding place and delayed his arrest to coincide with a visit by EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. The rumours have persisted because Mladic was found living not far from Belgrade with relatives who share his last name. “Any such comment makes no sense,” Tadic said. “The truth is that we arrested Ratko Mladic the moment we discovered him.” The president also said it was time for the EU to do its part by boosting his country’s efforts to join the bloc, arguing the arrest of Mladic proves it is serious about rejoining the international fold. “I simply ask the EU to fulfil its part,” he said. “We fulfilled our part and we will continue to do so.” The EU had repeatedly said Serbia could begin pre-membership talks only after it arrested the wartime Bosnian Serb commander. Some EU countries have said Serbia needs to do more, including arresting its last fugitive, Goran Hadzic, who led Croatian Serb rebels during the 1991-1995 war. Tadic said Hadzic would be arrested as soon as possible. Ratko Mladic Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbia War crimes Europe European Union United Nations Peter Walker guardian.co.uk

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