Thousands of Serbs attended the funeral of Ratko Mladić, known as the 'Butcher of Bosnia,' who was convicted of genocide, amid EU objections to portraying him as a hero.
On Monday, 7 Sep 2026 GMT+7, thousands of Serbian citizens gathered in Belgrade, Serbia, for the funeral of Ratko Mladić, former commander of Bosnian Serb forces and nicknamed the 'Butcher of Bosnia,' who died at age 84 while serving a life sentence in a UN prison in The Hague, Netherlands.
Mladić was sentenced to life imprisonment by the UN war crimes tribunal in 2021 for genocide related to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which approximately 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men were killed, as well as the siege of Sarajevo, which resulted in over 10,000 deaths.
Mladić's body was flown back from the Netherlands on a Serbian government plane last week, with six soldiers draping the coffin in the national flag and carrying it off the aircraft.
The government initially planned a state funeral but canceled it following strong opposition; the European Union issued a statement condemning the glorification of a war criminal as a serious violation of Europe's fundamental values.
Nonetheless, the funeral held at St. Luka Church in Belgrade was attended by several Serbian ministers and led by Archbishop Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since Serb nationalist groups still regard Mladić as a hero and protector of the nation.
Thousands of citizens and former soldiers took part, lining up outside the church to pay respects from early morning, with choir music played over loudspeakers and candles lit in mourning outside. Veteran guards stood watch around the coffin, while Mladić's wife, son, and grandchildren received condolences inside.
Officials also arranged free bus services from Bosnia and various Serbian cities to facilitate attendance for those wishing to join the funeral.
Representatives of Bosnian war victims expressed deep sorrow at Mladić being honored as a hero, emphasizing he should be remembered as the 'Butcher' and erased from memory rather than celebrated.
The EU reiterated, "Ratko Mladić is a convicted war criminal guilty of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. Glorifying war criminals, denying genocide, and attempting to rewrite history are fundamentally opposed to Europe's core values."
The EU statement further declared such behavior "has no place either within the European Union or in countries seeking EU membership," directly signaling Serbia, which has been an EU candidate since 2012.
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Source:bbc