There are currently 16 convicted Serbs held in European prisons under inhumane conditions. Although some of them have already served two-thirds of their sentences for war crimes, the Residual Mechanism refuses to release them, claiming they have not yet been rehabilitated, according to the Belgrade newspaper Politika.
The newspaper reports that four of these individuals have been sentenced to life imprisonment and can only hope that The Hague will allow them to spend the remainder of their lives in a prison in their own country.
Sonja Karadžić Jovičević stated that her father, Radovan Karadžić, the first president of Republika Srpska, is subjected to physical and psychological abuse in a British prison, deprived of basic rights, and faces daily threats to his life.
“His prison conditions amount to an attempt to remove him,” Jovičević warned, adding that her father is entitled to legal protection as a prisoner, but the UK is denying him this right. As a result, he has sued the British government for inhumane treatment and human rights violations, seeking £50,000 in damages.
Speaking about the treatment of General Ratko Mladić in the Hague prison, his son Darko Mladić said that even if the conditions in The Hague were the best possible, they would not be sufficient to provide the care that his father’s health requires.
“He should be in a specialized medical or geriatric facility where Serbian is spoken,” Darko Mladić told Politika.
He emphasized that everyone agrees, including the Residual Mechanism, that his father’s health is very fragile.
“He suffers from a number of serious illnesses that put him at high risk of a sudden health deterioration, or even death. His latest injury, caused by a fall in the detention unit, has further worsened an already dire situation, and we don’t see any quick recovery,” Darko explained.
Radovan Karadžić is serving a 40-year prison sentence on the Isle of Wight in the UK, while former VRS Chief of Staff Ratko Mladić is imprisoned in The Hague.
Former senior Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs official Vlastimir Đorđević is still imprisoned in Germany, despite having served two-thirds of his 18-year sentence long ago.
VRS Generals Stanislav Galić and Vujadin Popović are serving life sentences in Germany, as is Dragoljub Kunarac, who completed two-thirds of his sentence back in 2016, but the court “does not believe he has reformed,” the newspaper reports.
Dr. Milomir Stakić is serving a 40-year sentence in France.
Milan Lukić, leader of the “White Eagles,” is serving a life sentence in Estonia, as is Milan Martić, the leader of the Serbs of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, who was sentenced to 35 years, and VRS General Dragomir Milošević, who was sentenced to 29 years.
Sredoje Lukić, a member of the “White Eagles” unit, is serving a 30-year sentence in Germany.
General Nebojša Pavković has long served two-thirds of his 22-year sentence in Finland, but the Hague Mechanism “is not convinced he has rehabilitated.”
In Finland, under similar reasoning, VRS General Radivoje Miletić was sentenced to 18 years, and he too has long met the criteria for release.
General Radislav Krstić is serving a 35-year sentence in Poland and has repeatedly requested release, having also served two-thirds of his sentence.
Former Minister of the Interior of Republika Srpska Mićo Stanišić and former head of the Banja Luka Regional Police Center Stojan Župljanin are serving 22-year prison sentences in Poland.
Source: RTRS
