MOST OF SERB PRISONERS HAVE HEALTH PROBLEMS, WE KEEP FIGHTING FOR GENERAL MLADIĆ'S RELEASE FOR TREATMENT

BELGRADE, JULY 25 /SRNA/ - Most of the 13 Serbs serving sentences in European prisons according to the judgments of the Hague Tribunal are elderly and have serious health problems, so Serbia continues to fight hard for the release of General Ratko Mladić for treatment, State Secretary in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights of Serbia Livija Pavićević told SRNA.

Pavićević stated that 11 citizens of Serbia and two from Republika Srpska, including Ratko Mladić, Radovan Karadžić, Mića Stanišić and General Radislav Krstić, are serving prison terms in prisons in the Netherlands, Estonia, Germany, France, Norway and Great Britain.

In the detention unit of the Hague Mechanism are Ratko Mladić and Mićo Stanišić, in Great Britain is Radovan Karadžić, in Estonia are Milan Lukić, Milan Martić, General Radislav Krstić and General Dragomir Milošević, in Germany Jovica Stanišić, Vujadin Popović and General Stanislav Galić, in France Milomir Stakić, and in Norway Stojan Župljanin and Sredoje Lukić.

Pavićević said that the eighty-four-year-old General Mladić is in the terminal phase of his illness, and that he has had four strokes so far, and has not received adequate treatment.

She reminded that Serbia has repeatedly given guarantees for his temporary release in order for him to receive treatment in full capacity in Serbia, where they would certainly pay more attention to his health condition than they do in the Netherlands.

Pavićević noted that the first stroke was not immediately recognised in the Hague detention hospital and that he was treated for some other diseases, and that she assumes, although she is not a doctor, that all of this led to his state of health entering the terminal phase.

As for the other Serb prisoners, she says that the four in Estonia are mostly older people - General Krstić, born in 1949, Milan Martić in 1954, General Milošević in 1942, while only Milan Lukić Jr., born in 1967, is the only one, and they all have health problems.

She reminded that General Krstić is disabled, he has no leg, that he also survived torture in a British prison since they tried to take his life there /other prisoners/.

Pavićević mentioned that Milan Martić also has health problems while still in the Estonian prison in Tartu, and added that General Milošević is in the worst health condition.

She said that it was the hardest for Serb prisoners that their requests for release were rejected even though they had served two-thirds of their sentences, since prisoners of other nationalities were released after serving two-thirds.