Ratko Mladić's appeal hearing postponed indefinitely

(Patria) - The presentation of appeals against the first-instance verdict of former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) Ratko Mladić, scheduled for March 17 and 18, 2020, has been postponed indefinitely, confirmed for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN BiH) from the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts (IRMCT).

As stated in the decision of presiding judge Prisca Matimba Nyambe, the presentation of appeals is postponed due to Mladić's upcoming surgery.

The Registrar of the Mechanism has been instructed to inform the Appeals Chamber weekly regarding the scheduling of Mladić's surgery and recovery, to allow for the prompt scheduling of the appeal presentations approximately six weeks after the surgery, which is the estimated recovery period.

The Prosecution filed an urgent appeal against the Chamber's decision to postpone the hearing, but the Chamber stated in its decision that no medical documentation was presented to justify changing their decision.

The Chamber rejected the Prosecution's appeal regarding an error in decision-making.

Mladić's lawyers, Branko Lukić and Dragan Ivetić, had previously requested the Mechanism to postpone the presentation of appeals against the verdict by which he was sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide and other crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to verify whether their client's health condition was good enough to attend these hearings.

"The basis for this request is the medical documentation about Mladić recently released by the Registry Office, concerning cognitive impairments, upcoming surgery, and a potentially new stroke – which was not previously disclosed, as well as other impairments relevant to Mladić's ability to participate in the proceedings," the submission states.

Mladić's lawyers requested that a hearing be held before the Appeals Chamber, at which a decision on the request to postpone the presentation of appeals should be made, and that a new date be set.

The Mechanism had previously scheduled the appeals against the verdict by which Mladić was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017 for genocide in Srebrenica, persecution across Bosnia and Herzegovina, terrorizing the citizens of Sarajevo, and taking UNPROFOR members hostage, for March 17 and 18 in The Hague.

The final verdict, as previously announced by the Mechanism, is expected by the end of this year.

The presentation of appeals against Mladić's verdict has already been postponed earlier due to changes in the appeals chamber that will deliver the final verdict.