Belgrade court declines to declare Ratko Mladic legally dead

A Belgrade court on Wednesday rejected the request of the family of Ratko Mladic to have the war crimes fugitive declared legally dead, reported the Serbian news agency Tanjug.

"The court decision is now legally binding and the case closed," said Gordana Vukovic, spokesperson for the First Municipal Court in Belgrade. However, because the request was declined for " procedural deficiencies,"the family has the right to submit another request to the court at a later date, added Vukovic.

The family was seeking the court to declare Mladic legally dead as of March 1, 2008, the last time any member of the family reportedly saw him alive. According to the family, Mladic had a stroke in 2006 and was suffering from heart and stomach problems. In their request they stated that he was "a sick man," who could not have survived without constant medical care.

Mladic was the former commander of the Bosnian Serb army during the civil conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990's. He is wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for his role in the massacre of an estimated 8, 000 men and boys around Srebrenica in 1995.

Source: Xinhua