STARING up into the unknown, his watery blue eyes betray a mixture of fear and confusion.
This is the face of former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic – Europe’s most wanted war criminal – just moments after his dramatic arrest.
Gone was the cold, menacing stare of the ranting bully who once struck fear into the hearts of his enemies.
His trademark camouflage army fatigues were replaced by a scruffy black tracksuit and his closely-shorn white hair peeked from beneath a faded cap.
The 69-year-old had the haunted look of a cornered animal.
Age seems to have taken a heavy toll on Mladic after his 16 years on the run, although his bloated, ruddy face suggests he enjoyed a drink or two as he hid from the authorities.
After suffering two strokes as well as kidney problems, he is now claiming ill-health and his die-hard supporters say he is not fit enough to stand trial.
His wife Bosiljka and son Darko had recently tried to have him declared dead after claiming, unconvincingly, that they had not seen him for five years.
But they were first to visit him in his Belgrade cell soon after his arrest at a remote Serbian village.
Darko said later: “He is too weak to be extradited. We will ask that he be transferred to hospital.”
Prosecutors believe Mladic is exaggerating his illness to try to avoid facing a war crimes tribunal in the Hague – but his ploy failed yesterday as a judge ruled he was fit enough to face justice.
He now has until Monday to appeal against his extradition.
Mladic’s capture has divided Bosnians, with some nationalists hailing him as an “honourable man” while others – particularly the relatives of his victims – labelling him “a monster”.
Sabra Kolenovic, whose husband and son were murdered by Mladic’s troops, said: “He may seem like a frail old man now, but he’s still just as evil.”
Mladic is accused of personally ordering the slaughter of more than 8,000 innocent civilians in the 1995 massacre in the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica, and overseeing the 43-month assault on the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, in which 12,000 died.
His barbaric methods were part of his genocidal plan to “cleanse” villages of Croats and Muslims.
In total 100,000 people lost their lives and 1.8 million were displaced.
Mladic will go to the same court as former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who was captured three years ago and whose trial began in 2009.
Another accused, former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, died of a heart attack in 2006 while in custody.
Ratko Mladić in 1993 
, otherwise known as "The Butcher of Bosnia," has been arrested after being sought for over a decade. The 69-year-old former Serbian general and war crimes suspect was arrested on May 26 by Serbian special police in , Serbia. Mladić was accused of war crimes shortly after the 1992–1995 . He was wanted for genocide and crimes against humanity, including the orchestration of a massacre of over 8000 Muslim Bosniak men and boys in .

The arrest has prompted protests from Serbian nationalists, who herald Mladić as a national hero and patriot. However, the international reaction to Mladić's capture is more positive. French President Nicolas Sarkozy praised Serbia's actions, saying it is another step for Serbia on the path to joining the European Union. Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt gave similar praise, saying that the Serbia's prospects of joining the EU are "brighter than ever."

Serbia's war crimes court ruled that Mladić is fit for trial, despite claims from family and supporters to the contrary. Ratko Mladić's son Darko claims that his father is too weak to face extradition to The Hague for trial. Mladić could face extradition within a matter of days.


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cs:Srbové chytili Mladiće, půjde před tribunál v Haagu
de:Serbien: Mutmaßlicher Kriegsverbrecher Ratko Mladić verhaftet
fr:Serbie : Ratko Mladić arrêté pour crimes contre l'humanité
ru:Арестован Ратко Младич
sr:Ухапшен Ратко Младић