War Crimes

Ratko Mladic's Extradition Appeal Rejected

Paves way for handover to The Hague for war-crimes trial.

After lawyers for suspected war criminal Ratko Mladic filed an appeal claiming their 69-year-old client was too mentally and physically unfit to be extradited to The Hague to face charges—a move that many viewed as a stalling tactic—judges formally rejected the appeal on Tuesday, paving the way for a quick handover to a U.N. tribunal. The former Bosnian Serb general will be extradited to The Hague "as soon as possible," prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic told the Associated Press. Mladic’s attorney said the ex-general was very emotional during a farewell visit from his wife and sister. Mladic is being charged with atrocities committed by his troops during the Yugoslav war, in particular the notorious 1995 Srebrenica massacre, which left 8,000 Muslim men and boys dead in a bout of "ethnic cleansing"—the worst atrocity against civilians in Europe since World War II.