The Council of Europe Condemns the Glorification of War Criminal Mladić
The Council of Europe condemned the public glorification of Ratko Mladić, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb army. Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty criticized statements by officials from Serbia and the Republika Srpska in support of the convicted war criminal.
“Such glorification constitutes a criminal offense under the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is not protected by freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights,” O’Flaherty emphasized.
The Commissioner recalled that Mladić was convicted of genocide in Srebrenica and crimes against humanity.
O’Flaherty called on all authorities to counter the glorification of convicted war criminals. The Commissioner stressed the need to fulfill legal obligations to hold the guilty accountable.
The statement came amid events honoring Mladić following his death.
As reported in the international media, on September 3, his body was received in Serbia with military honors. And on September 1, several thousand people gathered to honor Mladić in Banja Luka, the administrative center of the Republika Srpska.
In 2017, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia sentenced Mladić to life in prison for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among these crimes was the 1995 Srebrenica genocide. The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995 claimed the lives of approximately 100,000 people.
Source: Council of Europe
Earlier, the body of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić was transported to Belgrade.
