Bosnian Serb military chief appears in court

BOSNIA: Former military chief Ratko Mladic appeared in court Thursday, hours after his arrest in Serbia ended a 16-year manhunt for the general accused of masterminding the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

Europe’s most-wanted man was arrested in the early hours of Thursday in a village in northern Serbia, but there were immediately questions over whether the 69-year-old Bosnian Serb was fit to stand trial after he claimed to be ill.

“Today, early in the morning, we arrested Ratko Mladic,” Serbian President Boris Tadic announced.

“The extradition process is under way,” he added, referring to the process to transfer Mladic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), a UN tribunal based in The Hague. The indictment against him cites the Srebrenica massacre, the 44-month siege of Sarajevo, and the creation of camps and detention centres during the 1992-1995 war, all as part of a campaign directed against Bosnian Muslims.

At Srebrenica, 8,000 Muslim men and boys were rounded up and massacred, Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II.

But Mladic’s first appearance before the Serbian war crimes court was halted as his lawyer said he was unable to communicate.

“The investigative judge tried to question Ratko Mladic but he failed because he (Mladic) is in a difficult psychological and physical condition,” his lawyer Milos Saljic told reporters.

“It is difficult to establish any kind of communication with him,” he said. Mladic had however confirmed his identity, he added.

Mladic was to undergo medical evaluations and doctors would report on Friday as to whether he is capable of appearing in court, said Saljic, who added he believed the former general was fit to be transferred to The Hague. AFP