Mladic cooperative when taken into custody

[June 02, 2011]  THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- A U.N. official who met Ratko Mladic when the former Bosnian Serb military commander was extradited from Belgrade says Mladic was "extremely cooperative" when taken into custody at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal.

Tribunal registrar John Hocking says he spoke to Mladic Tuesday night through an interpreter and the 69-year-old genocide suspect appeared to understand him clearly.

Hocking said Wednesday that a doctor who examined Mladic saw no medical problems to prevent him being taken into the tribunal's detention unit.

Mladic's Belgrade lawyer has said he is too weak mentally and physically to face a war crimes trial.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is below.

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Ratko Mladic will appear before a judge of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal on Friday, giving the world its first clear look at the former Bosnian Serb military chief since he was arrested last week in Serbia after 16 years on the run.

The judge will ask Mladic if he understands the 11 charges against him and if he wants to enter a plea to each of them.

Prosecutors allege he was a key architect of Bosnian Serb atrocities throughout the 1992-95 Bosnian war, including the 1995 killings of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, Europe's worst massacre since World War II, and the deadly campaign of shelling that terrorized Sarajevo for nearly four years.

The war left about 100,000 people dead and forced 1.8 million to flee their homes.

Tribunal spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic said 69-year-old Mladic underwent medical tests and was given a copy of his indictment after he arrived at the tribunal's detention unit Tuesday night following his extradition from Belgrade.

The former general underwent "a thorough medical examination," Jelacic said, and has access to high quality medical care at the court's detention unit as well as nearby Dutch hospitals. Mladic's Belgrade lawyer fought his extradition, saying he was too weak mentally and physically to survive a lengthy trial.

Jelacic declined to comment specifically on the state of Mladic's health.

When he appears in court, Mladic will be asked to formally confirm his identity and to plead to the charges. He also will be asked whether he has any complaints about the arrangements in the prison.

Like his old ally and political boss Radovan Karadzic three years ago, Mladic may decline to enter pleas at his first appearance, instead opting to delay a formal response by up to a month. Karadzic's trial, which resumed Tuesday after a two-month recess, is still in its early stages.

Mladic has said he does not recognize the authority of the U.N. tribunal.

Mladic was extradited from Belgrade on a Serbian government executive jet following his capture Thursday at the home of a relative in a Serbian village. Judges in Belgrade rejected his appeal to delay his transfer on grounds of ill health, and the Serbian justice minister authorized his handover to U.N. officials in The Hague.

Since his arrest, only a few photos have emerged of the former general.

Justice Minister Snezana Malovic said the handover marked the fulfillment of Serbia's "international and moral obligation." Serbia had been told it needed to capture Mladic before it could be considered as a candidate for membership in the European Union.

Of the 161 suspects indicted by the U.N. court since its establishment in 1993, only one remains on the run -- Goran Hadzic, a leader of rebel Serbs in Croatia.

Mladic's extradition brought a satisfied response from war victims.

"This means a lot to the victims of genocide," said Munira Subasic, head of the Sarajevo-based Association of Srebrenica Massacre Survivors. "Mladic has left, and we believe that the evil will speak out of him and that he will tell the truth."

In Bosnia, Serb nationalists staged demonstrations in support of Mladic, some carrying banners that said: "The eagle is gone but the nest remains."

Serb nationalists in Serbia and parts of Bosnia still consider Mladic a hero -- the general who against all odds tried to defend ethnic Serbs in the Bosnian conflict. In the Bosnian city of Banja Luka, thousands of supporters protested his arrest Tuesday, in the biggest demonstration so far in the country.

[Associated Press]

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