Life imprisonment for the "butcher of the Balkans" (VIDEO)

ratko mlantits

of Maria Tsangari

Radko Mladic, the Balkan butcher, faces life in prison, according to a sentence handed down by The Hague Tribunal for Yugoslavia.

Mladic's lawyer asked for the trial to be adjourned due to his high blood pressure, but the judge refused.

Mladic shouted at the judges and left the courtroom.

Mladic's trial began in 2012 and ended today, a historic moment.

The former soldier was found guilty in 10 of the 11 charges, including genocide and crimes against humanity.

Bosnians believe justice has been done.

Nejiba Salihovic, Relative of the victims
I feel very happy because justice and truth have been restored after 22 years. I salute the Hague Tribunal as a mother, sister and husband.

But this controversial personality continues to divide.

Igor Topolic, Serb
I never recognized the Hague Tribunal. This is all a hoax, Mladic is a national hero of Serbia.

Mladic has a significant share of responsibility for the massacre of seven thousand and more Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995, which is considered the worst atrocity committed in Europe since the end of World War II.

He even took part in the siege of Sarajevo, which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, which judges described as a "criminal operation" to clear Bosnia of non-Serbs. 

He is considered one of the architects of Bosnia's ethnic cleansing policy, which was carried out through mass deportations and concentration camps.

By the end of the war, Mladic had been in hiding for 16 years until he was arrested in 2011. He is now 74 years old and in poor health.

 

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