Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic buried in Belgrade with military honors

Belgrade officials oversaw the burial of Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military leader convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. The funeral ceremony, which was televised live across Serbia, drew a crowd of supporters and featured military honors, while the remains were interred at a cemetery on the outskirts of the capital. Mladic, who had been serving a life sentence since 2017, died in prison earlier this month after a prolonged illness.

The burial takes place just days before President Aleksandar Vučić is expected to announce the date for Serbia’s upcoming parliamentary election, a move that could shape the country’s political landscape ahead of the 2024 EU accession talks. International observers and human‑rights groups have warned that the public commemoration of a convicted war criminal may inflame regional tensions and complicate Serbia’s diplomatic efforts, while domestic authorities have emphasized the event’s compliance with legal and procedural norms.