Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic criticizes the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague after Ratko Mladić dies while serving a life sentence. Vucic says the court shows “uncivilized” or “uncivilised” behavior by refusing early release, and he argues the decision prevented Mladić from dying at home. Mladić dies at age 84 on Thursday.
The outlets place the dispute in the broader context of the UN tribunal’s role in prosecuting atrocities from the wars in the former Yugoslavia. One report notes Mladić was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017, a step viewed by some as advancing justice for victims. Balkan Insight reports Vucic also frames the tribunal’s stance as wanting Mladić to die behind bars. Other accounts focus more directly on his accusation that the refusal of release was unjustifiable.
Across the sources, the core points are that Mladić dies in custody, and Vucic publicly challenges the tribunal’s decision not to grant early release, while coverage differs mainly in wording and emphasis on judicial and historical context.
