Mladić (IT-09-92)

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Source: Mladić (IT-09-92) (MICT case page)

Trial Judgment: 22 November 2017; MICT Appeal Judgment: 8 June 2021

Ratko Mladić, Commander of the VRS Main Staff, stood trial for allegedly having planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted a campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide against Bosniak and Croat populations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including through: the siege of Sarajevo and a military campaign of sniping and shelling against the civilian population of Sarajevo; the genocide of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, including through the summary execution of thousands of Bosniak men and boys; and the taking hostage of UN peacekeepers. The prosecution accused him of individual and superior criminal responsibility and participation in joint criminal enterprises for genocide in Srebrenica and other municipalities; conspiracy to commit genocide; crimes against humanity for persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, and inhumane acts; and violations of the laws or customs of war for murder, attacks on civilians, terror, and taking of hostages.

In 2017, the ICTY Trial Chamber convicted Mladić of genocide in Srebrenica; crimes against humanity for persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, and inhumane acts; and violations of the laws or customs of war for attacks on civilians, terror, and taking of hostages. The Trial Chamber acquitted Mladić of genocide in municipalities other than Srebrenica and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

In 2021, the MICT Appeals Chamber upheld Mladić’s convictions and life sentence in their entirety, affirming the findings of genocide in Srebrenica and the other crimes against humanity and war crimes.