Bosnian Serb leader Mladic's family complains about his treatment, health

The health of the former commander of the Bosnian Serb army, Ratko Mladic, is rapidly deteriorating and authorities are giving virtually no information about his treatment at the international detention center at the Scheveningen prison, his son Darko Mladic told the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti.

Mladic, 80, is serving a life sentence for genocide and war crimes committed during the secession war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the years 1992 through 1995, among other things. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia a year ago. He became especially notorious for the siege and capture of the eastern Bosnian city of Srebrenica, where Dutch UN soldiers were stationed. Thousands of Bosnian Muslim men were killed after the capture.

According to Darko Mladic, his father can no longer walk 40 meters in a row and he needs help with everyday things. Darko doesn't know exactly what is going on. According to him, the family is mainly told very general matters such as that "his condition is stable and he is participating in conversation." According to the son of the former army chief, Mladic's treatment is inadequate and he may have heart problems.

Mladic was wanted by the ICTY in 1996, but managed to stay out of the hands of justice until 2011. He was eventually arrested in northern Serbia and was already suffering from health problems such as paralysis due to strokes.