Overview
- Defence lawyers filed an urgent motion seeking provisional or early release and transfer to Serbia for treatment after a suspected stroke left the 84-year-old unable to speak and struggling to swallow.
- Judge Graciela Gatti Santana requested an independent medical assessment of Ratko Mladić’s condition and life expectancy, and the court has not yet ruled.
- Mladić is serving a life sentence for genocide and other crimes, including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and the siege of Sarajevo, with his 2017 conviction upheld on appeal in 2021.
- Victims’ associations and human rights advocates urged the court to deny any release or transfer, saying it would erode justice for survivors of Bosnia’s war.
- Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić voiced support for a humanitarian release, underscoring the political sensitivity of a ruling that hinges on whether prison care can meet end‑of‑life medical needs.