UN Court Orders Mladic Medical Assessment

A United Nations war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands, ordered a medical assessment of Ratko Mladic on Tuesday, responding to a petition from his lawyers seeking his release from life imprisonment on humanitarian grounds.

The 84-year-old former Bosnian Serb general, convicted in 2017 of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 1992-95 Balkan conflicts, has been detained at a UN facility for 15 years. His defense team argued that Mladic is in a "state of advanced, irreversible medical decline" warranting release. The order from Judge Graciela Gatti Santana noted that Mladic was taken to an emergency room earlier this month for an unspecified health incident. The independent assessment, due by May 1, will evaluate his current health condition and the adequacy of care at the detention center.

Mladic commanded Bosnian Serb forces during the wars that followed Yugoslavia's breakup in the early 1990s, with the most severe atrocities occurring in Bosnia. The conflicts resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and the displacement of millions before a peace agreement in 1995. He evaded capture for about 10 years following the war before his arrest in Serbia in May...