Commemoration held for late Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladic

A commemoration for Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladic was held on Saturday in Belgrade, two days before his scheduled burial. The event was attended by dozens of former military personnel, family members, and officials, including Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujic and Sinisa Karan, president of the Bosnian Serb entity, Republika Srpska. Mladic died last week while serving a life sentence in The Hague. His body was returned to Serbia on Thursday via a government plane with military honours. During the ceremony at a military facility, speakers praised Mladic's role in the 1990s wars in Bosnia and Croatia. Outside the venue, supporters gathered wearing T-shirts labeling him a "Serbian Hero." Mladic, dubbed the "Butcher of Bosnia" by international media, was convicted by a UN court of genocide for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where approximately 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed. Despite these verdicts, he remains a figure of hero-worship for some Serbs, particularly in Republika Srpska. His burial is expected to take place on Monday in Belgrade.