BELGRADE, April 20. /TASS/. Belgrade is preparing to request the transfer of former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic, who is currently serving a life sentence in The Hague, for treatment in Serbia due to his deteriorating health, according to Republika Srpska Minister of Justice Nenad Vujic.

"Ratko Mladic is in the prison hospital. When I visited him, he was brought not in a wheelchair but on a cot. Initially, he was able to communicate and asked me to send greetings to the Serbs, Serbia, and everyone who cares about him. However, his strength has since waned. His condition is serious and requires comprehensive medical treatment. I have informed officials in The Hague about his condition, and we are advocating for his release on humanitarian grounds. All necessary conditions have been arranged, and as a state, we are prepared to provide additional guarantees if needed," Vujic told Serbian journalists after his meeting with Mladic.

According to the justice minister, Mladic’s continued detention "would constitute a violation of human rights."

Mladic was sentenced to life imprisonment on November 22, 2017, by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws or customs of war. He evaded justice for nearly 16 years before being arrested in Serbia in May 2011 and extradited to The Hague.

In 2025, the International Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals -the successor to the ICTY - rejected Mladic’s defense team’s request for early release on health grounds. His family described the decision as politically motivated and vowed to continue their efforts. On April 15, Mladic’s son, Darko, announced that he had suffered a stroke.