Outcry as Convicted War Criminal Ratko Mladic Receives Full Military Funeral in Belgrade

Thousands of mourners gathered in Belgrade for the funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic, drawing sharp international criticism over the glorification of the former Bosnian Serb army general. Mladic, who passed away at the age of 84 while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed during the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was returned to Serbia on a government plane last week.

Referred to as “the butcher of Bosnia,” Mladic was laid to rest on Monday in a coffin draped in the Serbian flag, receiving full military honours with government members in attendance. Among the notable figures present were Serbian opposition figures, current and former officials of Republika Srpska, pro-Serbian politicians from neighbouring Montenegro, and Russia’s Ambassador to Serbia Alexandar Botsan-Kharchenko. While Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic did not attend, Mladic’s family thanked him for his support, and the president endorsed the ceremony as a “dignified funeral.” The president’s son, Danilo, was also in attendance.

Ahead of the service, police secured areas near the church and cemetery, where Mladic’s body lay in state at St. Luke church. Patriarch Porfirije, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, led the main religious service as citizens waited hours to pay their respects.

The event drew immediate international backlash. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos cancelled an official visit to Belgrade, stating that the glorification surrounding the death is incompatible with EU values. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also issued warnings against the glorification of convicted war criminals, while civil society organisations in Serbia condemned the military honours as an insult to victims and survivors.

Mladic remains infamous for commanding forces that carried out the Srebrenica genocide in July 1995, where more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed after the UN-declared “safe area” fell. After evading capture for nearly 16 years, he was arrested in May 2011 in Lazarevo and extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, where he received a life sentence.