Lawyer Says Mladic Was Treated for Cancer

Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 10:10 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

The lawyer for Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic says he has medical records showing the former general was treated for cancer two years ago at a Serbian hospital.

Attorney Milos Saljic Thursday said Mladic suffered from lymph node cancer and underwent treatment for it in 2009.

Saljic previously said his 69-year-old client has suffered at least two strokes and would not live to see his trial. Saljic tried to delay Mladic's extradition to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague because of his health, but a Serbian medical team declared him fit to stand trial.

Mladic arrived in The Hague Tuesday from Serbia, where he was arrested last week.

Bosnia's ambassador to the Netherlands, Miranda Sidran Kamisalic, visited the detainee and said he seems in good physical condition and is articulate.

The Bosnian Serb wartime commander is expected to face 11 counts in the indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, when he makes his first appearance at the Hague tribunal Friday.

The court indicted Mladic in 1995 in connection with the massacre of 8,000 Muslim males from Srebrenica and for atrocities he allegedly carried out or ordered during the three-year siege of Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo.