Genocide—Mladic Pension Allegations

The Belgrade‑based news source B‑92 reports today that it has uncovered information indicating that accused war crimes suspect Gen. Ratko Mladic was receiving an army pension from the Serbia-Montenegran government as recently as last month.^[1] Mladic was originally indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1995 for alleged genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

The B-92 report alleges that family members and two unnamed army officers have been collecting the pension payments by means of a power of attorney letter subject to periodic renewal.^[2] Although the letter was reported to have been long overdue for renewal, several individuals have been reportedly collecting the payments made to Mladic’s bank account.^[3] The payments have now been suspended.^[4] However, the report contains no allegation that Mladic was collecting the payments directly and there is no mention of evidence that the funds actually reached him.^[5]

Serbia’s Special Prosecutor for War Crimes, Vladimir Vukcevic, is quoted as saying that people identified as assisting Mladic to avoid arrest are liable to criminal prosecution under state law.^[6]

The former Bosnian‑Serb general continues to elude capture and extradition in spite of increased pressure on the Serbian government to locate and turn over Mladic and other indictees. This week, the Serbian government announced plans to form a new National Security Council dedicated to coordinating the efforts to apprehend individuals sought by the ICTY.^[7]

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[1] Serbia: Mladic Continued to Draw Pension, TV Network Reveals, AKI Press [hereinafter AKI], Dec. 29, 2005, available here.
[2] AKI supra note 1.
[3] Mladic Case, Far From Solved, B‑92, Dec. 28, 2005, available here.
[4] War Crimes Fugitive Mladic Was Still Getting Army Pension, Associated Press [hereinafter AP], Dec. 29, 2005, available here.
[5] Id.
[6] AKI supra note 1.
[7] AP supra note 4.