Five Srebrenica war victims’ associations have written to Graciela Gatti Santana, presidents of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IMRTC), regarding the latest requests for the temporary release of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić for treatment in the Republic of Serbia.
“We believe that there are no, nor can there be, credible and reliable guarantees that the convicted person would be returned to serve his sentence if he were transferred to a country that has provided him with refuge in the past. We recall that Ratko Mladić evaded justice for years, with the support of the structures of the very country to which his transfer is now being sought. This fact in itself seriously calls into question any type of guarantees that are offered today,” the associations believe.
They say they are additionally concerned by the continued practice of denying the adjudicated genocide, glorifying war criminals and relativizing crimes.
“Such a context cannot provide either legal certainty or a moral framework in which a decision on possible treatment could be considered justified,” they stressed.
They believe that for the families of the victims, survivors and all those still seeking justice, the possible release of Ratko Mladić outside the system of international supervision would represent a deep injustice and additional trauma.
“Such an act would be perceived as a humiliation of the victims and undermining the credibility of international justice,” they point out.
The letter is signed by the Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide, the Association of the Movement “Mothers of the Enclave of Srebrenica and Žepa”, the Association “Žena Podrinja”, the Association “Mothers of Srebrenica”, the Association “Women of Srebrenica”.
