Russia on Thursday criticized the tribunal that convicted former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic, who died in hospital while serving a life sentence in The Hague for genocide and war crimes.
“The deliberate disregard for basic rules of impartiality and fair treatment of convicted persons for political reasons will forever remain part of the unenviable ‘legacy’ of the ICTY,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, referring to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Mladic, 84, died Thursday while in UN custody in The Hague. He had been serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
The former commander of Bosnian Serb forces was convicted in 2017, including for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed. His life sentence was upheld on appeal in 2021.
Mladic also commanded Bosnian Serb forces during the years-long siege of Sarajevo, which killed thousands of civilians.
Russia has long criticized the Hague tribunal, accusing it of bias against Serbs.
Moscow’s reaction contrasted with that of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who reiterated his solidarity with the victims of Mladic’s crimes and their families and stressed the importance of rejecting genocide denial and the glorification of convicted war criminals.