Ratko Mladić dies in Scheveningen detention at 84

Ratko Mladić died on 27 August 2026 at the age of 84 in the detention unit in Scheveningen. He had been held in custody at The Hague for years after his conviction, and his death was announced following medical reports that had described a serious decline in his condition.

One week earlier, on 20 August 2026, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić sent a written request to the administration of the Hague Tribunal asking that Mladić be released so he could spend his remaining days in Serbia. Vučić took that step after receiving a medical report on Mladić’s state of health.

According to Vučić, allowing Mladić to receive treatment in Serbia was "a matter of humanity, not legal verdicts." The president framed the transfer as humanitarian rather than a question of overturning judicial decisions.

In mid‑August 2026 Mladić’s defence also filed an application for conditional early release on humanitarian grounds, after medical findings indicated he was in the final stage of life. That request was rejected by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague.

The administration in The Hague did not grant Vučić’s request and the mechanisms that review humanitarian release applications maintained their decision. Mladić remained in the Scheveningen detention unit until his death.

No further official information on the circumstances of his death was published at the time of the announcement. The case and the recent humanitarian requests will remain part of the record held by the residual mechanism and the relevant Hague authorities.

Photo: press material from the event