“The Secretary-General expresses solidarity with the victims, survivors, and their families affected by the crimes for which Mr. Mladić was found guilty,” said A. Guterres’ press spokesman Stephane Dujarric to journalists.
Read more Horoscope for August 28: The stars prepare an unexpected turn for 4 signs
Serbian state broadcaster RTS earlier reported that the former Bosnian Serb military commander and war criminal, who suffered several strokes, died in a prison hospital in The Hague.
R. Mladić’s death was also confirmed by the UN international tribunal.
“Mladić died today while being treated in a hospital in The Hague,” reported the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals and added that Judge Graciela Gatti Santana ordered a “thorough investigation into the circumstances of his death.”
Meanwhile, Russia criticized the tribunal that sentenced R. Mladić on Thursday.
“The deliberate disregard of fundamental rules of impartiality and fair treatment of the convicted for political reasons will forever remain an unenviable part of the ICTY’s ‘legacy,’” the statement said, referring to the abbreviation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
84-year-old R. Mladić was dubbed the “Butcher of Bosnia” for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian war.
R. Mladić served a life sentence in The Hague for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
Read more The new «Teleloto» hosts have been revealed: it’s an unexpected duo
Serbian state officials and R. Mladić’s family requested his release due to his poor health, but the tribunal based in The Hague rejected these requests.
With the collapse of communism and the former Yugoslavia descending into a bloody conflict, he was the military face of a brutal trio politically led by former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić.
The 1992–1995 war claimed about 100,000 lives, and 2.2 million people were forced to leave their homes.
The most horrific brutality was carried out in Srebrenica, where Serb forces under R. Mladić’s command killed 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys who sought refuge in an enclave that was supposed to be protected by the United Nations.
