From the BBC:
“Bosnian war: Ratko Mladic
appeals against genocide conviction”
Ex-Bosnian Serb commander Ratko
Mladic is appealing against his conviction for genocide and crimes against
humanity at a court in The Hague. The two-day hearing began after it was
delayed several times because of Mladic's health issues and the coronavirus
pandemic. The 78-year-old led forces during the massacre of Bosnian Muslims
(Bosniaks) during the 1990s Bosnian war. Known as the "Butcher of
Bosnia", he was jailed for life in November 2017. As Tuesday's session
began, Mladic's lawyers told the UN court that the proceedings should not go
ahead until a medical team had reviewed his capacity to take part. Mladic will
himself speak for 10 minutes on Wednesday, and he appeared in court for
Tuesday's session wearing a surgical mask, while most of the judges took part
via video link. His son, Darko Mladic, told the AFP news agency that his father
"hasn't been able to prepare" for the appeal hearing due to his
health issues. "He doesn't have the energy needed for work of this kind
and there are questions about how well his memory is working," he said. Mladic,
who earlier needed an operation to remove a benign polyp on his colon, had a
request for a delay on health grounds rejected ahead of the hearing. The
Mothers of Srebrenica, a group of women related to victims of a massacre in the
town in 1995, said the tribunal "must not lose motivation, and must carry
out its mission". "We hope Mladic will be found guilty for genocide
in other towns as well," Munira Subasic, the organisation's president,
told AFP.
What was Mladic convicted of? Mladic was the military commander of
Bosnian Serb forces against Bosnian Croat and Bosniak armies. He had been on
trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
since 2012 prior to his conviction five years later. The court found
that he "significantly contributed" to the genocide in Srebrenica in
1995, where more than 7,000 Bosniak men and boys were murdered, the worst
atrocity in Europe since World War Two. The other charges included war
crimes and crimes against humanity. He was cleared of a second count of
genocide in other municipalities. The court will hear an appeal by prosecutors
against this acquittal this week. At the end of the war in 1995 Mladic
went into hiding and lived in obscurity in Serbia, protected by family and
elements of the security forces. He was finally tracked down and
arrested at a cousin's house in rural northern Serbia in 2011 after 16 years on
the run.
^ He does like to “beat a dead
horse.” He knows he is guilty of these crimes. His victims know he is guilty of
these crimes. The world knows he is guilty of these crimes. Unfortunately, he
didn’t receive the Death Penalty as he should have and so he should accept he
is going to spend the rest of his life in a prison cell. When he dies no one
will mourn him and he will be looking up at the world. ^
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