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Mladic’s Body Returns to Serbia With Military Honours

The repatriation prompted EU officials to suspend a planned visit, casting doubt on Serbia’s EU prospects.

The aircraft carrying the body of Bosnian Serb Ratko Mladic, former general convicted of Bosnia genocide, lands from The Hague, in Belgrade, Serbia, September 3, 2026. REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic
Image
FILE - Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, right, talks on the phone next to Russian Army General Vladimir Zurbenko, center, during the visit of a Russian Army delegation to the Bosnian town of Banja Luka in Oct. 1995. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic, File)
A man walks by a mural that shows former Bosnian Serb wartime general Ratko Mladic in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Overview

  • The coffin was flown from The Hague and arrived in Belgrade on Thursday, Sept. 3, where soldiers carried the flag-draped casket and it was taken for a post-mortem examination.
  • Mladic’s family and pro-military groups have announced a commemorative ceremony this weekend and a burial on Monday, with officials warning that tens of thousands of supporters may attend and that security will be a major challenge.
  • EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos cancelled a planned visit and EU and Council of Europe officials publicly condemned the public honours as incompatible with EU values, putting added strain on Serbia’s EU candidacy.
  • The Hague-based U.N. mechanism and Dutch authorities have opened formal inquiries into the circumstances of Mladic’s death and Serbian doctors are conducting an autopsy while the family alleges negligent treatment.
  • Survivors’ groups and rights organisations denounced the public glorification, saying it deepens wartime divisions in the Western Balkans and complicates efforts at reconciliation and regional stability.