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Mladic’s defense team to appeal life sentence

The lawyer hopes that during the consideration of the appeal the mistakes made by the court will be rectified

Ratko Mladic ICTY via AP

Ratko Mladic

THE HAGUE, November 22. /TASS/. The defense team of Ratko Mladic, a former Bosnian Serb general, plans to file an appeal against the verdict of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, lawyer Dragan Ivetic said on Wednesday.

"The appeal will be lodged, and we hope that during the consideration of the appeal, the mistakes made by the court will be rectified," Ivetic said.

The lawyer also expressed "serious concerns" over the health of Mladic, 75, who won’t be able to get the necessary medical assistance in the ICTY’s prison.

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The Hague tribunal finds General Mladic guilty of genocide

Mladic’s son Darko told TASS the sentence "came as no surprise." "We will appeal against the verdict, we view it as the first half."

He also called to allow doctors examine his father in December. The ICTY had earlier delayed this possible visit for several months.

Darko Mladic also said that the former Bosnian Serb commander accused the court of lying.

"General Mladic expected this [the politically motivated trial] and stated in the courtroom that everything they said was a lie. He expressed his stance saying: ‘All that is a lie. This is a NATO-style trial," his son quoted him as saying.

General Mladic made this statement after the court rejected his defense attorney’s request to interrupt or shorten the pronouncement of the verdict because of the defendant’s hypertensive crisis.

Immediately after Mladic’s remarks, the judicial panel decided to expel him from the courtroom. The verdict was pronounced in his absence.

Earlier on Wednesday, the UN tribunal at The Hague sentenced Mladic to life, finding him guilty of 10 out of 11 counts, including genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war during the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) from 1992 until 1995.

The tribunal refused to adjourn or cut short the procedure of delivering the verdict for Mladic, who suffered a hypertensic crisis during the session. The lawyer complained to the judges about his client’s health, but they decided to continue reading the verdict.

While the West has proclaimed the general as a war criminal, many people in Serbia and the Republika Srpska think he is a national hero. "Mladic fulfilled his duty very professionally. Ratko Mladic remains a legend in Serbia, a person who used all his human and professional qualities to defend the Serb people," said Milorad Dodik, President of the Republika Srpska (now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina).

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