Archive · 28 Aug 2026
Ratko Mladić, ‘Butcher of Bosnia,’ Dies Serving Life Sentence
Ratko Mladić was a military commander during the war in Bosnia.
A United Nations tribunal found him guilty of very serious crimes, including genocide.
The court said he was responsible for the killing of at least 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995.
His forces also attacked Sarajevo for nearly four years, killing about 10,000 people.
Many people were forced to leave their homes during the war.
Mladić was arrested in Serbia in 2011 after hiding for almost 16 years.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 2017, and the sentence was upheld in 2021.
He died in custody after suffering serious health problems, including strokes.
Ratko Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb military commander, died while serving a life sentence in The Hague.
The ICTY convicted him in 2017 of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related offenses; his sentence was upheld in 2021.
The tribunal held Mladić responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which at least 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed.
His forces besieged Sarajevo for nearly four years, killing about 10,000 people and targeting civilians with shelling and sniper fire.
Mladić was arrested in Serbia in May 2011 after nearly 16 years as a fugitive; reports differed on whether he was 83 or 84 when he died.
- Who
- Ratko Mladić, former commander of the Bosnian Serb army and convicted war criminal.
- What
- He died while serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related offenses.
- When
- Reports published on Aug. 27 said he had died; accounts differed over whether he was 83 or 84.
- Where
- He died at the United Nations Detention Unit or prison hospital in The Hague; the crimes occurred in Bosnia, including Srebrenica and Sarajevo.
- Why
- He was imprisoned after the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia convicted him over atrocities committed during the Bosnian war; reports also cited his deteriorating health.
Tribunal, survivors and victims’ families
Mladić and nationalist supporters
Responsibility for atrocities
Tribunal, survivors and victims’ families
The ICTY found Mladić responsible for genocide and other crimes, including the Srebrenica massacre and the siege of Sarajevo.
Mladić and nationalist supporters
Mladić rejected the tribunal’s authority, denied responsibility and called its findings lies.
Purpose of the wartime campaign
Tribunal, survivors and victims’ families
The tribunal determined that Mladić and allied leaders pursued ethnic cleansing to remove Bosnian Muslims, Croats and other non-Serbs from territory intended for a Greater Serbia.
Mladić and nationalist supporters
Some nationalist Serbs portrayed Mladić as a defender of the Serbian population during Yugoslavia’s breakup and continued to regard him as a hero.
Requests for release
Tribunal, survivors and victims’ families
The tribunal repeatedly rejected compassionate or humanitarian release requests, saying release was not in the interests of justice.
Mladić and nationalist supporters
Mladić’s defense team and family sought his release or medical consideration, citing his rapidly declining health and serious illnesses.
- Death location
- The United Nations Detention Unit or prison hospital in The Hague, according to reports and his lawyer.
- Reported age
- Reports variously said Mladić was 83 or 84; accounts differed over whether he was born in 1942 or 1943.
- Conviction
- The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia convicted him in 2017 of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other offenses.
- Sentence
- Life imprisonment; the conviction and sentence were upheld on appeal in 2021.
- Srebrenica deaths
- At least 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed in July 1995.
- Sarajevo siege
- The siege lasted nearly four years, or 1,425 days according to one report, and killed about 10,000 people.
- Arrest
- Mladić was arrested in Serbia on May 26, 2011, after nearly 16 years as a fugitive.
- Health
- Reports said he suffered several strokes, and courts repeatedly rejected requests for medical or humanitarian release.
Sources
"Butcher Of Bosnia" Ratko Mladic Dies While Serving Life Sentence For Genocide
Ratko Mladić, Bosnian-Serb general behind Srebrenica massacre dies aged 84
Ratko Mladic, former general convicted of Bosnia genocide, dies
Ratko Mladić dies in prison: How did he gain the nickname ‘Butcher of Bosnia’?
