Details about the death and funeral of Ratko Mladic presented by his son, doctor, and minister

Darko Mladic; Photo: Tanjug Video

The family of Ratko Mladic, together with members of his defense and medical team, addressed the public today regarding the circumstances of his death in the custody of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. During the address, official information was presented about the last days of the former commander of the Army of the Serb Republic (VRS), as well as information about his funeral in Belgrade on Monday.

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Darko Mladic, the son of General Mladic, Dragan Ivetic, his defense lawyer, Dr. Ognjen Gudelj, a member of the defense's medical team, and Minister of Justice Nenad Vujic addressed the news conference.

"A commemoration will be held tomorrow at noon in the Army House, and the funeral will be on Monday, September 7. From 07:00, the coffin will be lying in repose in the Church of St. Luke. After that, the procession will go to the Topcider cemetery, where the funeral will take place around 13:00," Darko Mladic announced, and invited citizens to come in great numbers.

"I would like the funeral to be peaceful and dignified and not to a reason for quarrels. I call on everyone to refrain from any provocations and attempts to prevent the event, and let the bereaved dignify and respect the customs during my father's funeral," he added.

"My father was killed before my very eyes," Darko Mladic said, describing his father's last days. "He died due to negligent medical treatment and deliberate administration of opiates that were too strong."

"Care and treatment are not the same. You can take good care of someone, but if you treat them in the wrong way, you cannot save them. The tribunal manipulates information about hospital conditions all the time. Although the technical conditions were good, he did not receive adequate treatment there, and died as a result of negligent treatment," Mladic said.

According to him, the Government of Serbia consistently met everything the family asked for, including providing the guarantees needed to travel to The Hague, and seek different treatment for the late general.

"I quickly received condolences from the president and his entire family, I would like to emphasize that this is a public funeral, but I do not deal with politics, while politics is meddling in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I can only emphasize that whenever something was needed, the president was with us and this time I publicly thank him for that."

Dr. Gudelj: Ratko Mladic was killed by doctors' inaction

Dr. Ognjen Gudelj also addressed the news conference:

"This is very difficult for me to say, but I took the Hippocratic Oath and have to tell the truth, whatever it may be. It is with great regret that I have to state something that I did not believe I would have to state. General Mladic was killed at the Hague tribunal, he was killed by the inaction of the doctors and the staff. You know, when you don't measure someone's blood pressure every day, and he is a heart patient, or when you don't do lab tests, and he is being administered strong drugs. If you do not admister him medicine for diabetes, and he is a diabetic, that is murder," the doctor said.

"It's a big shock for me as a cardiologist, as a doctor, as a person. They told me there, and I quote: 'We decided not to do lab tests because we wanted to spare him the pain'. The pain from a needle prick? It was hard to listen to," said Dr. Gudelj.

"I was looking for a blood pressure device and for the first time they told me: 'Sorry, but we don't have it' - that says it all," the doctor added and stressed that cooperation had been good and fair for many years until this moment.

A visibly distressed Darko Mladic added to this:

"Since April 10, when they failed to diagnose my father's  stroke, that only happened a month later... Neither the defense nor the family received the documentation about that."

Mladic's defense asked for release on humanitarian grounds, that is, to allow him to spend his last days under surveillance in Serbia, with his family.

"It was not a request to release him from his sentence, but to be treated in Serbia and to spend his last days with his family. It's unseemly for a man to die in prison. Serbia offered VMA's guarantees, it was ready to provide quality care. That last request was essentially supported by the judges. They recognized the importance of dignity and humane care at the end of life, and yet the president (of the Mechanism) refused," said lawyer Dragan Ivetic and added that truth needs to be known and the facts investigated.

"A man has died in custody after he was refused immediate humanitarian release, the family deserves the answers," said Ivetic.

No medical documents were provided to them except the death certificate, although they asked for everything.

"The big question is where that documentation is, and what is stated in it," the lawyer said.

Vujic: We asked for release for treatment

Minister of Justice Nenad Vujic said that the Republic of Serbia, with the family and the lawyers, was always present in this process, but also when it comes to other Serbs condemned by the tribunal.

"What happened recently was that we warned the Mechanism in an intense way not about what we think, but about their decisions. Everything we sent them was based on their decisions. The difference between care and treatment is fundamental. You cannot do the kind of treatment that was necessary in a prison hospital," Vujic pointed out.

"In May, we were told that the general had entered the final phase of his life, but that death is not expected soon. Even so we asked for an early release for treatment," he said.

"Palliative care includes respecting human dignity. We also referred to the so-called Madela rules," Vujic said, referring to UN documents.

"The global standard is respect for human dignity. When someone passes away, then any discussion about where someone will be buried and under what conditions ends, that is up to the family to decide," added Vujic.

Darko Mladic noted that his father's funeral is causing great interest not only among war veterans, but people in the Serb Republic in general, and uutside of Serbia and the RS.

"There is huge interest in Greece, Bulgaria, Poland, Australia, the US, other European countries. The interest is huge, and I would like this complex event ahead of us to pass with dignity, as I believe my father deserves," said Darko Mladic.

"Dignified burial is a right"

Justice Minister Nenad Vujic reiterated that it is the family's right to lay Ratko Mladic to rest in a dignified manner.

"What is a civilized rule is that it (funeral) should be peaceful and it is the right of citizens to express their respect for the deceased. It must be calm and dignified. And let's not switch topics up and talk about the punishment. Because when someone dies, the sentence ends," he pointed out.

This is a matter of respect for human dignity and respect for citizens' right to pay their respects, he repeated.

Darko Mladic stated that President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic was always there for the family, and thanked him for that support.

He pointed out that the Government of Serbia and the Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujic, were constantly reaching out to the family, primarily where it concerns the guarantees that were needed in order to be able to file requests and ask the Mechanism to release his father for treatment.

(Telegraf.rs)