DECISION ON REQUEST FOR GENERAL MLADIĆ’S TREATMENT IN SERBIA AWAITED

BELGRADE, JUNE 25 /SRNA/ - All medical reports concerning the health condition of former Commander of the Main Staff of the Republika Srpska Army, General Ratko Mladić, have been collected, and a decision is now awaited on whether he will be allowed to receive medical treatment in Serbia, General Mladić’s son, Darko Mladić, told SRNA.

"Our nephrologist was in The Hague last week and examined the general, but his report is not yet for public release. We also received reports from the prison doctors, but those are not public either," said Darko Mladić.

He stated that he will be able to comment on the reports once redacted versions are made public.

"A decision on treatment in Serbia could not be made before these reports were submitted," he added.

He also noted that his mother recently visited General Mladić in The Hague, and that the general is in daily contact with the family.

"I will soon go visit him again with the children. He speaks with them regularly and sees them via video calls, but that cannot replace personal contact," said Darko Mladić.

General Mladić is suffering from neurological, cardiovascular, and urological issues, which are progressively worsening and becoming more complex.

At the beginning of June, General Mladić’s defence team submitted a request to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague for his early conditional release on an expedited basis due to his serious health condition.

A submission by Dragan Ivetić, Mladić's lead legal counsel, addressed to Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, reads that despite the reluctance of the detention unit’s medical service to provide a definitive prognosis, it is indisputable that the general is nearing the end of his life.

Last year, Mladić got a pacemaker implanted at a hospital in the Netherlands, but his condition has continued to deteriorate, and he has since experienced kidney failure.

"Given the incurable nature of Mladić's illness and his short life expectancy, continued detention serves no legitimate purpose and constitutes inhumane treatment and punishment," the proposal stated.

His lawyers argue that, in addition to sparing the UN detention centre the costs of palliative care, early release would allow General Mladić to explore all medical options and spend his remaining months with his family.

While in detention, General Mladić has suffered two strokes and one heart attack.