APPEALS FOR URGENT UN INTERVENTION, GENERAL MLADIĆ HAS LESS THAN A MONTH TO LIVE

BELGRADE, MAY 14 /SRNA/ – The family of General Ratko Mladić, following the Hague Mechanism's refusal to grant his release on humanitarian grounds, has issued an urgent appeal to all UN human rights bodies, special rapporteurs and international legal organizations to intervene before it is too late, stating that he has less than one month to live.

"Complicity in this inhumane treatment through silence and inaction represents a defeat of all civilizational values that the international community allegedly stands for," the Mladić family said in a statement.

The family expressed deep disappointment, outrage and shock over today's decision rejecting the request for the general’s humanitarian release.

They said the decision represents a serious failure of justice and an attempt to ignore and relativize extremely serious facts that would, in any other case, constitute an undisputed basis for humanitarian release.

The statement says the decision of the President of the Mechanism is notably lacking in relevant legal citations, serious legal analysis and valid reasoning for the conclusion that General Mladić’s medical needs can be adequately met in a prison hospital.

The family pointed out that this claim is untenable given his current condition following two devastating strokes suffered within just a few weeks.

Instead, they said, the decision relies almost exclusively on the fact that the prison hospital is “newly built,” completely ignoring whether the facility is truly capable of providing the specific palliative care required for a patient in the terminal phase.

It is also stated that the decision paradoxically refers to General Mladić’s statements from June 2025, made before the strokes, when he allegedly expressed satisfaction with certain aspects of treatment.

"It is completely irrelevant what a person suffering from dementia stated a year ago, compared to today’s situation in which he lies immobile, tied to a bed and deprived of the ability to speak," the statement signed by his son Darko Mladić says.

The family says the current reality is harsh and undeniable, noting that on April 10 this year, after the first stroke, General Mladić lost the ability to speak and developed severe swallowing difficulties.

They also point to alleged neglect of diagnosis, claiming that civilian and prison medical services initially denied a stroke and insisted symptoms were caused by a urinary infection.

The family reminds that on May 2, due to inadequate monitoring and treatment after the first stroke, he suffered a second, even more severe stroke, which doctors confirmed could have been prevented with timely therapy.

Although independent Serbian experts requested an urgent MRI scan, prison authorities allegedly refused even after acknowledging the second stroke.

The current condition is described as complete dependency, immobility, loss of cognitive functions, inability to communicate, and inability to recognize doctors who have treated him for years.

The statement also cites a terminal prognosis, saying there is a general consensus among three Serbian doctors, two independent experts appointed by the Mechanism, and even judges consulted by the President of the court, that General Mladić is terminally ill with a life expectancy of less than one month.

The family said it cannot accept that a person in such condition is denied the minimum of humanity, the right to spend his final days in adequate hospice or medical care in Serbia, surrounded by his family.

They said the decision is in direct contradiction with the UN "Mandel Rules", which stipulate that prisoners retain their dignity and the right to healthcare equivalent to that in the wider community.

The statement also reminds that international law clearly states that continued detention loses all purpose when a prisoner is at the end of life.

The family warned that ignoring these facts seriously calls into question the legitimacy of the Mechanism as an institution of justice.

They highlighted a dissenting opinion by Judge Nyambe, who opposed the decision and concluded that the terminal diagnosis and acute neurological decline require urgent release, emphasizing that palliative care must include family contact and a dignified environment, which a prison can never provide.

The Hague Mechanism rejected the defense request for General Ratko Mladić to be released for treatment in Serbia due to his serious medical condition, stating that although he is "in the final stages of his life", his condition is "poor due to chronic illnesses" but "different from incurable rapidly progressing diseases".

The decision also states that General Mladić is under the supervision of "top experts" and is receiving all necessary care.