Ratko Mladić: the war criminal who became a martyr for Bosnian Serbs

The Conversation Weekly · Sep 10, 2026 · 16m

To most of the world, former Bosnian Serb military general Ratko Mladić was a brutal war criminal whose actions during the Bosnian War killed thousands.

For others, he was a martyr who defended the Serbian people.

In late August, the 84-year-old died while serving a life sentence in The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He was laid to rest in Belgrade earlier this week with full military honours - a move which angered the families of the victims of his crimes.

On this week's episode of The Conversation Weekly, why a war criminal being celebrated by some as a hero and how this…