Ratko Mladić was a lieutenant general, commander of the Main Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. (Case number: IT-09-92)

The International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indicted Ratko Mladić on July 24, 1995. He was arrested in 2011 after nearly 16 years of evading justice, and on November 22, 2017, he was given a first-instance verdict for the most serious war crimes committed in Europe since World War II.

The Appeals Chamber on June 8, 2021, confirmed the life imprisonment sentence imposed on Mladić by the Trial Chamber.

He was convicted of:

1. Genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica
2. Persecution - The Chamber found that direct perpetrators under Ratko Mladić's command intended to destroy the Bosniaks in these municipalities as part of a protected group in the towns of: Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Foča, Ilidža, Kalinovik, Ključ, Kotor Varoš, Novi Grad, Pale, Prijedor, Rogatica, Sanski Most, Sokolac, Trnovo, Vlasenica, and Srebrenica. The goal of the persecution was the permanent removal of Bosniaks and Croats during the period from May 12 to November 30, 1995.
3. Extermination
4. Murder and crimes against humanity
5. Murder and inhumane act of forcible transfer in municipalities across BiH
6. Deportation
7. Forcible transfer
8. Terrorizing
9. Unlawful attacks on civilians in Sarajevo
10. Taking United Nations personnel as hostages

The Chamber found that Mladić committed crimes through his participation and contribution in four joint criminal enterprises (JCE): the first is a comprehensive joint criminal enterprise together with Radovan Karadžić, Biljana Plavšić, Momčilo Krajišnik, Radislav Brđanin, Mićo Stanišić, Ljubiša Beara, Zdravko Tolimir, Vujadin Popović, Stanislav Galić, Milan Lukić, Radislav Krstić, Goran Jelisić, Milomir Stakić, and Drago Nikolić – all convicted by The Hague Tribunal. This JCE involved a common plan aimed at permanently removing Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats from areas in BiH that Bosnian Serbs had marked as Republika Srpska (RS), by committing crimes for which he was convicted.

The second JCE relates to Sarajevo and aimed at spreading terror among the civilian population through a campaign of sniping and shelling. Sarajevo was under siege for 1425 days during which over 11,000 people were killed.

The third JCE relates to Srebrenica and aimed at the elimination of Bosniaks.

The fourth JCE concerns the taking of hostages. The goal of this JCE was to take UN personnel as hostages to prevent NATO from conducting air strikes on Bosnian Serb military targets.

He is serving a life sentence in the detention unit of the International Court in The Hague.

"The hangar was filled to the last spot. Then a burst of gunfire was heard, followed by shooting. I closed my eyes and waited to be killed. All the men fell. I lay down as well. There was blood everywhere. While I was lying down, there were moans, cries for help, screams… Panic reigned. I lay on one of the dead men, and I moved two others over me. I stayed like that for 24 hours," said S1, who managed to leave the hangar only on July 15, and then started towards the forest with witness S2, walking for 11 days until they were out of the territory controlled by Serbian forces." (From the testimony of protected witness S1 who survived the execution in Kravica where at least 1,313 Bosniaks were killed on July 13 to 14, 1995.)

"A living hell ensued. Nobody knew anything about anyone. Moans, cries for help, screams were heard… After the shooting, they took a break, went out in front of the hangar, lit cigarettes, then they would come back and continue shooting at us, killing the survivors."

(From the testimony of protected witness S2.)

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