‘Butcher of Bosnia’ to appear in court

Former Serbian army commander Ratko Mladic, dubbed the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’, will be appearing before the International Criminal Tribunal almost a year after he was arrested in Serbia.

Mladic was the embodiment of defiance during the Bosnian war and has been blamed for the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II.

The former Serb commander led troops at the time of the 1995 siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre, will be facing UN war crimes court from Wednesday.

Mladic, now 70-years-old, faces 11 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes branching off from the 1990s Balkans conflict which left around 100,000 people dead.

Mladic’s lawyers have called for the replacement of currently presiding judge Alophons Orie and a delay in the trial.

His defiance has proved to be undimmed after 16 years on the run as was proved when he first faced judges in June 2011. Mladic insisted that his only intention was to defend his country.

 After his arrest in Serbia in May 2011, Mladic has complained of health problems at each court appearance since his transfer to the tribunal’s detention unit.