World · Bosnian Serb general diesRatko Mladić Dies in Prison: The Reckoning Splits the BalkansAired August 29, 2026 at 12:59 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00The man convicted of the worst massacre in Europe since World War II has died in a0:04UN prison hospital at 84.0:06His death has opened a split between survivors who say nothing has changed and0:10nationalists who want to bury him as a hero, who will claim his memory.0:14M.0:14Leidik died under palliative care in the tribunal's own ward, still awaiting a0:18country to accept him.0:20The tribunal's president, Judge Graciela Gaddi-Santana, ordered a full inquiry into0:24the circumstances and assigned Judge Ayan Bonami to conduct it.0:28Dutch authorities opened the standard investigation required under national law.0:32The cause has not been publicly detailed, but it was attributed to a long decline0:36following several strokes.0:37He had suffered strokes and long decline, was reported terminally ill in 2025 after0:42repeated bids for compassionate release failed.0:45In April 2026, he was hospitalized after a health emergency with lawyers citing0:50advanced, irreversible decline.0:52In May 2026, the court rejected a release request, finding his condition dire, but0:57concluding he was receiving comprehensive and compassionate treatment.1:00By August 2026, a UN doctor said death could occur at any time, possibly within1:05weeks.1:06His last humanitarian release request was filed about 18 August and rejected about1:1020 to 22 August.1:12He was in the tribunal's palliative care ward when he died.1:15In Serbia in Republika Srpska, Miladic is being mourned as a hero.1:19President Vučic called the tribunal's refusal to let him die in Serbia uncivilized,1:24and Justice Minister Vucet announced a burial with the highest military and state1:28honors.1:28In Republika Srpska, vigils and church memorials were held, with Prime Minister Savo1:33Minic praising him as a national hero and Milora Dodic calling his death in effect a1:37murder.1:38Across the border, survivors and Bosniak leaders condemned the glorification.1:42The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina condemned public glorification of a1:46convicted war criminal, and the Social Democratic Party said it would file criminal1:50charges against officials who glorify him or deny genocide, naming Dodic among them.1:55Defense Minister Zukan Helles said death does not bring forgiveness, mass graves are1:59not erased, and murdered children do not return.2:02For survivors, the reckoning continues.2:08Other mothers of murdered sons were blunter.2:10Rura Malich, who lost two sons, said she thanked God to have lived to see him die.2:15Sura Sinanovich said she wished he had suffered at least 10 more years.2:19Kadahotich said what mattered was that he stayed in prison until the end.2:23Munira Subasic, president of the Movement of Mothers of Srebrenica and Jipa2:28Enclaves, said VRS units under Mledic's command killed 10,701 people from 10 to2:3419 July 1995, including 570 women and 1,042 children.2:39A figure higher than the court's own finding.2:42M.2:42Ledic was indicted in 1995, but he evaded capture for 16 years, hiding under the2:47alias Milorod Kamadich.2:49He was finally arrested on the 26th of May, 2011, about 5 a.m., in a house in2:54Lazarevo, Vojvodina, after Serbian special police and the BIA found him.2:58He was pale and aged, with one arm impaired, and two pistols he did not use.3:03He identified himself and was cooperative.3:05In 2017, he was convicted on 10 of 11 counts, including genocide for Srebrenica,3:11crimes against humanity, and war crimes, and sentenced to life imprisonment.3:14The trial chamber found he commanded crimes through joint criminal enterprises3:18covering ethnic cleansing, the siege of Sarajevo, and the hostage-taking of UN3:22peacekeepers.3:23He was acquitted of one genocide count related to municipalities other than3:26Srebrenica.3:28The Appeals Chamber affirmed the conviction and sentence in 2021.3:31At least 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were executed in Srebrenica in July 1995, after3:37the fall of the UN-declared safe area.3:39Their bodies were scattered across dozens of mass graves, many reopened and moved to3:43hide the crime.3:44The International Commission on Missing Persons has identified more than 7,000 of3:48the 8,372 known victims by DNA.3:52The siege of Sarajevo lasted 44 months, from April 1992 to February 1996,3:57and killed more than 10,000 civilians under shelling and sniping.4:01Across the Bosnian war, Upward of 100,000 people were killed and more than 1 million4:06displaced.4:07Those are the crimes that defined his legacy.4:09In the eyes of survivors, nothing about his death changes that.4:13The memorial center director Amir Siljagic said the fact of the death does not bring4:17back the dead, erase the mass graves, or alter the verdicts, and that his ideas are4:21not dead.4:22Now the question is what happens to his body and his memory.4:25Serbia has promised a funeral with the highest military and state honors, with the4:29location to be chosen by the family, reportedly at the Topshieder Cemetery in4:33Belgrade, beside his daughter Anna.4:35But no date has been set and the body has not been released pending the inquiries.4:39The Serbian justice minister said the state was ready to collect the remains4:43immediately.4:43The European Union warned that glorifying war criminals is incompatible with4:48European values and under Serbian army law, a conviction carrying more than a year4:53in prison can strip rank and remove entitlement to military honors.4:56Bosnia's Social Democratic Party says it will file criminal charges against5:00officials who glorify him or deny genocide.5:03naming Dodek among them.5:04The UN Secretary General's office has cautioned those in power to refrain from5:08denying the seriousness of the crimes, including Srebrenic's genocide denial and5:13glorification of war crimes.5:15His son, Darko Mledich, traveled to The Hague.5:17For survivors, the reckoning is not over.5:20As Soljagit said, the verdicts stand and his ideas are not dead.5:24The inquiry and the criminal complaints will determine whether his memory is honored5:28as a hero or remains a reminder of the atrocities he ordered.5:32Who will claim his memory?5:34That question remains unresolved.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗