The President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), Graciela Gatti Santana, has denied the request for early release of Dragomir Milosevic, sentenced to 29 years in prison for crimes against civilians in Sarajevo.
In Judge Gatti Santana’s decision, it was noted that Milosevic has served two-thirds of his sentence since March 2024, thereby meeting the conditions for consideration of early release.
The decision further states that Milosevic claims his health has deteriorated, that he requires constant care and supervision, which is not always available, and that he suffers from multiple health issues.
It was noted that Milosevic’s problems are exacerbated by his age of 83, his long period in prison, and the lack of contact with his family.
“The medical report does not indicate an acute or life-threatening condition (…). While Estonia indicates that early release could be justified from a medical perspective, his condition has not reached the level of severity that would make continued imprisonment inappropriate, particularly given the adequacy of care provided,” the decision of President Gatti Santana states.
She concluded that Milosevic has not demonstrated compelling humanitarian reasons for early release.
Milosevic’s defense submitted a request for early release in June 2025.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 2009 convicted Milosevic, former commander of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS), to 29 years in prison. He was transferred on March 22nd, 2011, to Estonia to serve his sentence.
The Mechanism previously denied Milosevic’s request for early release, due to the gravity of the crimes for which he was convicted, as well as his failure to demonstrate sufficient signs of rehabilitation.
In Hague rulings, for campaigns of terror against civilians, sniper and artillery attacks, former political and military leaders of the RS, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, and the former commander of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the VRS, Stanislav Galić, were sentenced to life imprisonment.
