GENERAL MLADIĆ CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS IN CHAPEL OF DETENTION UNIT

BELGRADE, JANUARY 14 /SRNA/ - General Ratko Mladić, whose health remains poor, celebrated Christmas in the chapel of the Hague detention hospital, with a liturgy and the spiritual guidance of the Hague detainees' chaplain Vojislav Bilbija, his son Darko Mladić told SRNA.

Darko Mladić said that the general did not have any significant festive activities apart from the Christmas liturgy, to which he was brought in a wheelchair because he is bedridden.

"They have a small chapel there, and that's where the liturgy was held. They also cut the Christmas bread together. That was the only kind of celebration for Christmas, the only observance of the holiday there, but the most important one in any case," Darko said.

Regarding the general's health, Darko stated that his condition remains consistently poor.

He said that the time for a response to the earlier request for General Mladić's release on medical grounds has expired, emphasizing that the Hague Mechanism, the successor to the Hague Tribunal, has not replied.

"They were obliged to respond, but as you can see regarding my father, the rules keep changing on the fly. The rules do not apply to him. Decisions are being made against him without any basis, and new rules are being invented for him. We hope he will at least be able to hold on until a better moment," Darko Mladić said.

The former Chief of Staff of the Republika Srpska Army, General Ratko Mladić, was arrested on May 26, 2011, in Serbia and transferred to the Hague Tribunal, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment for alleged war crimes in BiH.

During his time in detention, he has been treated multiple times at the Hague hospital for serious health problems, including a heart operation during which a stent was implanted, and he has been bedridden in the Hague detention hospital for over a year.