War criminal Mladic appeals against extradition

Post Second World War most wanted war criminal in Europe Ratko Mladic has appealed against the judgment by court in the country that he could be extradited to the court in Hague to answer questions about crimes against humanity that was leveled against him. The notice of appeal was received in the appeal court in Belgrade, Serbia.

It was expected that the extradition could commence as early as Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. With the appeal by Mladic it is doubtful whether the extradition could be carried out as planned. It appears everything would now depend on the time the court finished hearing the appeal. It is expected that the appellate court in Belgrade would speed up the process. The lawyers standing for the former fugitive had written to the authorities explaining that the former army general is not mentally fit to stand trial in The Hague.

He has been in the wanted list for sixteen years. For the first time the former army general was allowed by the authorities to visit the grave of his daughter who killed herself during the war in Bosnia. He visited the grave side amidst tight security. The visit was not announced because the authorities saw it as a private affair.

Serbia Plans to Break with Ugly Past

Serbia is completely coming out from its ugly past with the arrest of one of the Europe’s most wanted war criminal Ratko Mladic. Meanwhile the tall building which once served as the headquarters of Slobodan Milosevic which was damaged by a cruise bomb by America during the Kosovo war of 1999 has been privatized and refurbished. It was of the signs that Serbia is planning to break from its past and join the European Union.

The major achievement of the democratic president of the country Boris Tadic is the arrest of Mladic last week. The expected extradition to Hague after more than 15 years of search is a moral boost to the government of Tadic. It is expected that it will open the way for integration of the country into the European Union. It is further healing the old wounds of the bloody past.

However not many people in the country believe that the arrest of the war time criminal will change things in the country. The poor rating of the arrest is as a result of the poor showing of the economy which has made many of the citizens to live in abject poverty. It was the non arrest of Mladic that prevented the membership of Serbia to the European Union.

Serbian military officer Mladic likely to face extradition

A judge in Belgrade Serbia has ruled Friday that the former Serbian military officer can be extradited to the world court sitting in Hague to face charges on the atrocities he committed. Ratko Mladic was arraigned before the court. However he has three days to appeal against the ruling.

The arrest and subsequent arraignment of Mladic a former Serbian army general who was accused of being the mastermind of the worst atrocities committed against mankind in Europe since the end of the Second World War was a major breakthtough. He was accused of supervising the massacre of over 8000 Muslims during the Bosnia war that lasted between 1992 and 1995.

His capture is a major breakthrough towards allowing the 2 neighboring countries from joining the European Union. It is expected that his arrest and subsequent prosecution will begin the process of healing the old wound and animosities between the two countries.

It was surprised to the world how the former army general was able to evade for more than 15 years after the massacre. The 60 year old general has developed ill health and his son said that his health is failing and called for international medical experts to examine him. With the decision of the judge it is now clear that he would be transferred to The Hague unless he appealed against the decision.