Turkey welcomes UN ruling on ‘butcher of Bosnia’

ANKARA

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said on June 8 that a U.N. court in The Hague’s upholding of a life sentence for Ratko Mladic for his part in the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina was the right call, although it would not reduce the pain of the relatives of the victims.

The ministry said in a written statement that judges for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) sentenced Mladic – also known as the “butcher of Bosnia” – to life in prison in 2017 for the genocide he committed and atrocities against humanity along with violation of the law of war.

Noting that he unsuccessfully appealed his conviction and the court upheld his life sentence Tuesday, the statement said the court made the right decision in the interest of justice.

The statement said Turkey wished the ruling would serve the peace and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region and contribute to the prevention of such crimes in the future.