MOSCOW: RATKO MLADIĆ'S RIGHTS GROSSLY VIOLATED

MOSCOW, AUGUST 13 /SRNA/ - The attitude of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals /IRMCT/ towards the former Commander of the Main Staff of the Republika Srpska Army Ratko Mladić and other Serbs is particularly cruel, and the only way to ensure their rights is to transfer them to the country of their citizenship to serve their sentence, said Aleksey Fadeev, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He recalled that the Hague Mechanism, represented by its President Graciela Gatti Santana, decided on July 29 to reject the request for the early or temporary release of General Mladić for humanitarian reasons.

"The president is authorized to approve the early release of prisoners in exceptional cases for humanitarian reasons, but Graciela Gatti Santana took a hypocritical, anti-Serb position and stated that there are no grounds for either temporary or early release of Ratko Mladić - allegedly, his state of health is `deplorable,` but the convict does not have an acute terminal illness that would serve as a basis for approving the request," said Fadeev.

The Russian official pointed out at the press conference that Serbian doctors, who examined the general this year, concluded that his health condition is critical and that he can only be given care and assistance in planning the final phase of his life, RT Balkan reports.

"Ratko Mladić is in a really difficult condition. He is not able to communicate with doctors in his native Serbian language," said Fadeev.

He emphasized that the Russian representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya spoke in detail about what is happening to the Serbian general in the prison hospital in The Hague during his speech at the UN Security Council session on the work of the Mechanism, held on June 11.

"At the end of May 2025, prison doctors, using Ratko Mladić’s developed dementia, convinced the prisoner to refuse resuscitation measures in the event of a life-threatening condition," said Fadeev at the press conference.

He pointed out that the Russian side has repeatedly drawn attention to the unacceptable behavior of the staff of the Mechanism in relation to a seriously ill person, as well as non-compliance with minimum standards and UN rules regarding the treatment of prisoners.

Fadeev noted that the decision of the President of the Mechanism on General Mladić from July 29 is in contradiction with the suspension of the trial of Félicien Kabuga /accused of the genocide in Rwanda/ due to the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

"The particularly cruel attitude of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals is evident not only towards Ratko Mladić, but also towards other Serbs. Their rights are also being grossly violated," Fadeyev pointed out.

He emphasized that 80-year-old Radovan Karadžić is serving a life sentence in Great Britain, and psychological and physical violence is being used against him.

"He does not receive a special diet, and because of his serious health condition and chronic diseases, he is deprived of the opportunity to see his relatives and lawyers due to the order of the British authorities and the refusal to issue them visas," Fadeev pointed out.

He stressed that it is obvious that neither IRMCT nor Western countries that support it, cannot guarantee the basic rights of these Serbian inmates.

"The only way to provide them with the minimum level of these rights, considering their age and health condition, is to transfer them to the country of their citizenship to serve their sentence," concluded Fadeev.