to move up and down
Mladic’s old social club
After 16 years on the run, former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic finds himself in a jail in The Hague, sharing showers and a laundry room with wartime subordinates and erstwhile foes.
One of his first encounters is likely to be with his former commander in chief, Radovan Karadzic, wartime president of the Bosnian Serb state, Republika Srpska.
Relations between the two men had reportedly soured toward the end of the 1992-95 Bosnian war and for which they both stand accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Gen. Mladic may also rub shoulders with former right-hand men like Vujadin Popovic, sentenced to life in prison for the Srebrenica massacre. Popovic remains at the detention unit, pending an appeal.
Erstwhile foes like Ante Gotovina, a former Croatian general, can be tackled in a board game in one of the prison’s common areas, where inmates relax when not in court or preparing for trial.
“There is a remarkably civil understanding between all of the accused and they tend to get on well together,” said Richard Harvey, the court-appointed standby counsel for Mr. Karadzic. “I wouldn’t say they are warm friendships, more a civil cooperation between people who recognize they are stuck together for a long time,” said Mr. Harvey.
Photo: A view of the exterior of the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague (Jerry Lampen/Reuters)
