War criminal Ratko Mladic, who was convicted of genocide, is near death, lawyers seek his release from prison

Mladic, 84, was sentenced to life in 2017 for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the wars in the former Yugoslavia between 1992 and 1995. The sentence for man known as the “Bosnia's Casap” was put into effect following appeal in 2021, reports BBCI'll follow the Express.

In a detailed parade to the tribunal on Friday, his lawyers said Mladic has been in bed for a long time or in a wheelchair.

They added that he has suffered a suspected stroke during a call with his son, which has left him almost unable to speak.

According to them, two doctors have assessed his condition as grave, and “risk of near death is high”, while lawyers have sought immediate temporary or conditional release at a hospital or hospital where the Serbian language is spoken.

It is understood that Mladic's defence team is seeking his return home, and Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujic has made it clear that his government is willing to provide guarantees to the tribunal if he is released.

Judge Gracilla Gatti Santana has requested an independent health assessment, expected to present the findings Friday.

Mladic commanded Bosnian Serb forces in the 1990s against the Croatian armies of Bosnia and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), during a war in which his troops carried out “ethnic cleansing” in Bosnia and Herzegovina surrounded the main city of Sarajevo causing more than 10,000 people to die, and carried out the massacre of 8,000 men and boys in Srebrenica.

Mladic disappeared in 1995 and was found only in rural Serbia in 2011, after 16 years on the run. He went to trial at The Hague in 2012, and was sentenced in 2017.

It has been held in a United Nations detention centre since 2011, but its lawyers argue that this unit and prison hospital are not enough to provide necessary care, and that its detention is “cruel and inhuman punishment” and no longer serves any purpose.

Bosniak groups representing the victims and survivors strongly oppose the release of the former Bosnian Serb commander from prison, viewing him as a “legal tax” and not as a humanitarian request. They have warned the UN tribunal that his defence team has made similar repeated efforts for years.

His lawyers demanded release in July 2025, but this was rejected; later, in November 2025, they successfully requested a provisional release to attend a memorial ceremony for a family member.

Mladic's son, Darko, told Serbian media there were no changes to his father's health and that he plans to visit him at the prison hospital next week.

Judge Gracilla Gatti Santana said he has asked medical experts to assess his current situation and possibilities for further treatment, as well as if his life expectancy can be determined and if the care he is taking in custody is sufficient.