Serb ex-army chief Ratko Mladic was to appeal on Monday against his transfer to a UN court where he faces genocide and war crimes charges, after thousands rallied in Belgrade against his arrest. His lawyer and family are arguing that Mladic — the alleged mastermind of the Srebrenica massacre and other atrocities during the 1992-95 Bosnian war — is too ill to be transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) based in The Hague. His lawyer said Monday Mladic may not even live to see the trial. But his appeal is widely expected to be rejected and his transfer to take place in the coming days.
The ICTY indictment holds Mladic responsible for offenses during the war including the Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys — the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II — and the 44-month siege of the city of Sarajevo, during which 10,000 were killed. A Serbian judge ruled Friday that Mladic, 69, is fit to be transferred to the UN court despite pleas from his lawyer and family that he is too ill after a series of strokes and other health problems. Mladic had three days to appeal the ruling, and his lawyer Milos Saljic said he would deposit the appeal later Monday.