'Butcher of Bosnia' Ratko Mladic suffers stroke while serving life sentence
Darko Mladic, son of Ratko Mladic, says that his father's health is declining on a daily basis.
Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic, serving a life sentence in The Hague, reportedly suffered a minor stroke and is in declining health, his son told Bosnian Serb public television.
On Wednesday, his son Darko Mladic told RTRS television that he had received initial information on his father's health on Friday, when contacted by an UN-authorised doctor.
"She briefly explained that they believe it was a silent (minor) stroke, that he had been taken to a civilian hospital, and returned (to prison) after scans and examinations," he said.
According to Darko Mladic, his father's condition is worsening on a daily basis.
"The situation is very serious."
We are still awaiting the medical documentation from The Hague so that Serbian doctors can review what happened, Darko Mladic said.
The family hopes the 81-year-old might be allowed to receive treatment in Serbia, his son added.
'Butcher of Bosnia'
Mladic was arrested in Serbia in 2011 after 16 years on the run.
He was sentenced by a UN tribunal to life imprisonment in 2017 over genocide and war crimes against Muslim Bosniaks during Bosnia's 1990s war.
Bosnian Serb wartime military commander, known as the "Butcher of Bosnia", was found guilty notably for his role in the siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000+ Bosnian Muslim men and boys, deemed genocide by international justice.
There has been no official comment from authorities in The Hague about his condition.
Mladic has long been described by his lawyers as sick and frail, and his defence first sought provisional release on medical grounds in 2017.
In July 2025, the UN court denied a request for his early release, saying his condition did not meet the threshold of an "acute terminal illness" required for release.