Ratko Mladic’s body returned to Belgrade ahead of expected large funeral

Belgrade, Serbia. The body of former army commander Ratko Mladic arrived in Belgrade on Thursday after he died aged 84 in a United Nations detention facility in The Hague while serving a life sentence for war crimes. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said tens of thousands of people were expected to attend his funeral.

Return to Serbia

A Serbian government plane landed at Belgrade airport minutes before 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), carrying Mladic’s coffin, wrapped in a Serbian flag, along with his son, granddaughter and Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujic.

Serbian soldiers carried the coffin to a red van, which Serbian media reported would take it to a military hospital for an autopsy over the weekend.

Funeral arrangements

A Serbian government minister initially said Mladic would receive a state funeral, but the government did not confirm this following criticism from European leaders.

Serbian media reported that a commemoration ceremony would be held on Saturday at the army hall in central Belgrade. The funeral was scheduled for Monday at a church in a Belgrade suburb, followed by his burial at a cemetery beside his daughter.

Vucic said providing security for the expected attendance would be a challenge.

War crimes convictions

Mladic was convicted by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war.

He was found guilty of genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which about 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed after Bosnian Serb forces overran the United Nations-designated enclave.

Mladic was also convicted over the 43-month siege of Sarajevo, during which about 10,000 people were killed.