SELAK: SCANDALOUS REJECTION OF GENERAL MLADIĆ'S REQUEST TO RELEASE HIM FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT

BELGRADE, MAY 15 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska Justice Minister Goran Selak stated that the decision of the Hague Mechanism to reject the request for the release of General Ratko Mladić for medical treatment in Serbia is scandalous, and that the explanation given by Mechanism President Graciela Gatti Santana is particularly scandalous.

"It is scandalous that the President of the Mechanism says that General Mladić is `at the end of his life` and in that way he is being abused and tortured in The Hague during the final days of his life," Selak said. He pointed out that the request was not for General Mladić to be released into freedom, but was submitted exclusively for humanitarian reasons. "Serbia provided guarantees; the Republika Srpska Government also expressed readiness to do so. The prime minister wrote to the president of the Mechanism, pointing to humanitarian reasons. We are asking that General Mladić be provided with adequate medical treatment," Selak said. He reiterated that Republika Srpska is ready to offer all forms of guarantees for the early release of General Mladić on humanitarian grounds. "We are ready to admit him for treatment at the University Clinical Centre of Republika Srpska in Banja Luka or in Belgrade, in agreement with our mother country Serbia, to treat him and fight for his life. It is scandalous that he is not being allowed medical treatment," Selak concluded. The Hague Mechanism rejected the defence team’s request for General Ratko Mladić to be released for treatment in Serbia due to his serious health condition. General Mladić suffered a stroke on April 10, and his already difficult health condition has further deteriorated, as he has serious neurological, cardiovascular, and nephrological problems. On May 2, he was transferred from the detention facility to a civilian hospital in The Hague due to suspicion of a stroke. Since doctors at the time did not confirm that he had suffered a stroke, he was returned to the detention hospital. General Mladić has been in the detention hospital in The Hague since 2024, where he is receiving palliative care. The Mechanism has repeatedly rejected requests for his provisional release for medical treatment in Serbia.