BELGRADE: A judge ruled Friday that Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, the alleged mastermind of the Srebrenica massacre and other atrocities, was fit to face international justice at a war crimes court. The ruling came amid pleas from Mladic's family that he was too ill to be transferred to the UN court in The Hague and that he was not guilty of organising the Srebrenica massacre – the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II – and the 44-month siege of Sarajevo. “It has been established that Ratko Mladic's health condition makes him fit to stand trial... We have decided the conditions for transfer have been met,” Judge Maja Kovacevic told reporters outside Serbia's special war crimes court. “Doctors say he is physically fit to follow the procedure despite the fact that he is suffering from several chronic illnesses,” she added. She also said Mladic “has refused to accept the indictment by The Hague court,” where he faces charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Mladic's lawyer Milos Saljic told reporters he would appeal the ruling within the required three days. “On Monday we will submit an appeal to this decision,” he said outside the court. Speaking to reporters earlier – a day after his father was arrested at the end of a 16-year manhunt – his son Darko Mladic insisted he was not guilty and not healthy enough to be transferred. “His position is that he is not guilty of what he is accused of,” Darko Mladic told reporters after meeting with his father inside the Serbian court building. “I am not a doctor but my opinion is that he is not fit at the moment,” he said when asked if he thought his father could be transferred to the The Hague. Mladic made a first court appearance in Belgrade Thursday after being arrested in the early hours in a village in northern Serbia, but his first hearing was halted after his lawyer Milos Saljic said he was too ill to speak. – Agence France
