Mladic back in UN court as genocide tribunal assesses his health

GENOCIDE suspect Ratko Mladic has returned to the United Nations’ Yugoslav tribunal at the Hague for a pretrial hearing, looking far calmer than at his chaotic arraignment in July.

Mladic faces 11 charges including alleged genocide and persecution of non-Serbs as the central military figure overseeing Serb atrocities in Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, including the four-year siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica, Bosnia.

He was arrested in May after 16 years as a fugitive. If convicted of any charge, he could face a life sentence.

Part of yesterday’s procedural hearing was a discussion of Mladic’s health. The hearing was held in close session in order to maintain his privacy in line with the court’s regulations.

Defence lawyers claim Mladic, 69, may be too ill to stand trial. They say he has had two strokes in recent years. His lawyer in Belgrade, Milos Saljic, said last week that Mladic has recently had surgery for a suspected hernia.

Presiding Judge Alphons Orie set the next pretrial hearing for 6 October.

No trial date has been set.