DARKO MLADIĆ: AWAITING MEDICAL REPORT, POSSIBLE FURTHER DELAY

BELGRADE, MAY 6 /SRNA/ – Darko Mladić, son of General Ratko Mladić, told SRNA that his father's health condition remains poor, that the report from independent doctors has not yet been delivered, and that he fears another delay in the process.

He said the situation remains unchanged, adding that General Mladić is in a serious condition and can barely speak a few words. Darko Mladić noted that there are still no indications as to when the medical report from independent doctors, engaged by the Hague Mechanism at the request of the defense and family for Mladić’s release for treatment in Serbia due to his terminal condition, will be completed. “It is unclear whether this is now another delay, I fear it is. Yesterday I was told that doctors in the detention hospital decided not to carry out what the independent doctors requested,” he said, adding that time is passing while correspondence continues. He reminded that the family and defense had received information that Hague doctors had agreed to carry out the requested procedures and that this was supposed to be done the following day. “However, yesterday I was informed that they decided there was no need to do it and that they sent such a note to the independent doctors,” Darko Mladić said. He stressed this raises the question of how Hague doctors can make such a decision if independent doctors requested it. "Are the independent doctors really independent if the Hague doctors are telling them what should be done?" Darko Mladić asked. He added that the independent doctors requested postponement of the written report until a new diagnostic method is applied regarding the general's examination. “That is mostly what we have been requesting for years, which the Hague doctors have not implemented upon the request of our doctors,” he said. Darko Mladić mentioned that independent doctors should define what needs to be done, while Hague authorities should only transport the general to a civilian hospital to carry out the procedure. Darko Mladić, who is visiting his father, is returning from the Hague to Belgrade tomorrow. General Mladić suffered a stroke on April 10 and his condition has further deteriorated due to serious neurological, cardiovascular and nephrological health issues. Since 2024, he has been held in the detention hospital in the Hague under palliative care. The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in the Hague has repeatedly rejected requests for his temporary release to Serbia for medical treatment.