Mladic funeral draws EU condemnation in Belgrade

Thousands of mourners gathered at St Luke’s Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade on Monday to view the body of Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb commander who died in The Hague on 27 August while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Mladic’s coffin was displayed with his military cap and sabre, while soldiers carried it wrapped in Serbia’s national flag. The Serbian government sent a plane to return his remains, although his family formally arranged the funeral.

The gathering prompted strong criticism from the European Union. Marta Kos, the bloc’s enlargement commissioner, cancelled a planned visit to Serbia, saying the public glorification surrounding Mladic’s death was incompatible with the values underpinning the country’s EU path.

Pro-government media reported that Mladic would receive full military honours and that Patriarch Porfirije would lead the funeral service. A military commemoration was also held on Saturday at an official Serbian army venue.

Mladic was convicted in 2017 over crimes including the Srebrenica genocide, the siege of Sarajevo and the operation of detention camps during the 1992–95 Bosnian war. More than 100,000 people died and over 1 million were displaced during the conflict.

The funeral has sharpened tensions around Serbia’s stalled EU membership bid, which has faced criticism over democratic backsliding and Belgrade’s refusal to impose sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Serbia continues to reject describing the Srebrenica massacre as genocide, while Mladic remains a hero to some Serbian nationalists.