"To be honest, we hoped that they [the court] would grant our request and postpone the hearing because of General Mladic's physical weakness and health problems, as well as because of the impossibility to prepare for the hearing," Darko Mladic said.
According to the former commander's son, the IRMCT usually sent out multiple questions to the parties before each hearing for a better understanding of the case but it was not the case this time.
"For me, this is proof that someone is speeding up and pushing this process, because they are worried that the commander's deteriorating health will lead to a halt in the proceedings. This is what we are trying to achieve, because according to the IRMCT doctors, his [Mladic's] cognitive abilities are reduced. Now, we must establish whether he is able to participate in the court at all," Darko Mladic noted.
He added that the family and lawyers were still banned from sending doctors to Mladic for independently examining him amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On 28 March Mladic, who was the Chief of Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska in the Bosnian War of 1992-1995, underwent surgery in The Hague to remove a tumor. The IRMCT gave the 78-year-old former commander six weeks to recover. In early May, the court postponed the start of the appeal hearing to 16-17 June. Mladic's lawyers and family then demanded a new postponement for health reasons and in connection with the coronavirus-related restrictions. A two-day hearing is now expected to begin in The Hague on Tuesday via a video link.
In November 2017, the UN Criminal Tribunal in The Hague convicted Mladic of war crimes that date back to the 1992-1995 armed conflict in the Balkans, including of his role in the Srebrenica massacre, which saw many Bosnian Muslims killed. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Both prosecutors and the general’s lawyers have appealed the sentence. The prosecution claims it has found evidence of other crimes committed by Mladic, while his family says he suffered several micro strokes since his conviction and requires urgent medical care outside prison.