Former head of Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) Aleksandar Vulin has praised convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić as a “Serbian hero” and publicly thanked Russia for what he described as its support for Mladić while he was serving his sentence in The Hague.
Speaking to Russian state media outlet Sputnik, Vulin, who currently leads Serbia’s Socialist Movement, said he was grateful to the Russian state for actively helping improve Mladić’s situation in detention.
“I am grateful to the Russian state because it actively helped improve General Mladić’s position in The Hague prison,” Vulin said, adding that he regretted that Serbia and its allies had failed to secure Mladić’s release or allow him to spend his final days with people close to him.
Vulin also described Mladić as a “hero of all free people,” further reinforcing his long-standing support for the former Bosnian Serb military commander.
Mladić was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the Srebrenica genocide.
Vulin attacks The Hague tribunal
Vulin also attacked the Hague tribunal, claiming that it was not established to deliver justice but instead served as an instrument of “revenge against Serbs.”
He further accused the European Union of putting pressure on Serbs to forget Mladić.
“The European Union is exerting great pressure for Serbs to forget General Mladić. You cannot do that to the Serbian people,” Vulin said.
According to Vulin, the Serbian people had “chosen to be with General Mladić” and had “chosen to be free.”
His comments come amid renewed controversy in Serbia over the public glorification of Mladić following his death. Serbian state institutions and officials have faced criticism over ceremonies and other forms of recognition associated with his funeral, while European officials have warned that the glorification of a person convicted of genocide is incompatible with EU values and Serbia’s stated path toward membership.
Vulin has long advocated closer relations between Serbia and Russia and has been one of the most prominent Serbian political figures defending Moscow’s position in the region.
