Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Dutch seaside cell awaits Mladic
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (0)
Slideshow
Full Focus
Editor's choice
A selection of our top photos from the past 24 hours. Full Article
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Air France crash sparks pilot mystery
30 May 2011
Bus crash in Virginia kills four and injures 54
4:20pm EDT
Killer bacteria claims victims in Germany, Sweden
|
3:29pm EDT
NY Rep. Weiner hires lawyer after alleged Twitter hacking
1:06pm EDT
Cheryl Cole out of UK "X Factor" after U.S. hitch
12:47pm EDT
Discussed
75
$1 trillion on the table in U.S. debt talks
59
Judge voids controversial Wisconsin union law
51
Speculation grows over Sarah Palin’s 2012 plans
Watched
Scientists revive ancient spider in stunning 3D detail
Tue, May 24 2011
Massive Australian waterspout caught on film
Mon, May 30 2011
GM pulls the plug
Fri, May 27 2011
Dutch seaside cell awaits Mladic
Tweet
Share this
By Ivana Sekularac and Aaron Gray-Block
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - When Ratko Mladic, nicknamed "the butcher of Bosnia," arrives at the international war crimes detention center in the Hague, he will join a who's who of accused genocidal dictators,...
Email
Print
Related News
Top war crimes suspect Mladic arrives in Netherlands
4:45pm EDT
Mladic lived openly in capital until 2002, friend says
Mon, May 30 2011
Mladic could be sent to war crimes court in days
Mon, May 30 2011
Serbian police detain 180 in pro-Mladic violence
Mon, May 30 2011
Belgrade protest against Mladic arrest turns violent
Sun, May 29 2011
Analysis & Opinion
“Welcome to Sarajevo again”
Srebrenica: The story that will never end
Related Topics
World »
1 / 2
A general view of the Scheveningen prison where former general Ratko Mladic will be taken to after his extradition to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague May 31, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Evert-Jan Daniels
By Ivana Sekularac and Aaron Gray-Block
THE HAGUE |
Tue May 31, 2011 1:00pm EDT
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - When Ratko Mladic, nicknamed "the butcher of Bosnia," arrives at the international war crimes detention center in the Hague, he will join a who's who of accused genocidal dictators, warlords and mass murderers.
Set in a leafy suburb, the Scheveningen detention center is already home to the former Bosnian Serb military leader's one-time political partner, Radovan Karadzic, currently on trial.
Other inmates include Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president charged with committing murder, rape and sexual slavery as he sought control of Sierra Leone's diamond mines or "blood diamonds," and Thomas Lubanga, the Congo warlord charged with recruiting child soldiers.
Mladic, indicted by an international war crimes tribunal over the killing of 10,000 civilians during the 43-month siege of Sarajevo and for the massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica during the 1992-95 Bosnian War, was expected to arrive in The Hague later on Tuesday.
Scheveningen's international complex, housing those awaiting trial for the International Criminal Court as well as the Yugoslav and Sierra Leone tribunals, is built next to an old prison where Dutch resistance fighters were imprisoned by the Nazis.
Compared to the prisons in the inmates' home countries, the detention center seems relatively luxurious.
For a start, there's the location. This is prime real estate, about 2 km (one mile) from the beach where top properties have views of rolling sand dunes and the whiff of sea spray.
Then there are the facilities: detainees are locked in their cells -- single, not shared, and about 10 square meters in size -- from 9 at night to 7.30 in the morning, where they can watch television, read or work on their cases.
Each cell in the ICC wing contains a bed, desk, bookshelves, a cupboard, toilet, hand basin and a telephone, although calls are placed by the centre's staff. Detainees can work on their cases using computers but cannot access email or the internet.
During the day, they are free to mingle and instead of wearing prison uniforms can dress in their own clothes.
But in the Yugoslavia wing of the detention unit, politics and court cases are taboo topics of conversation, perhaps to stop the discussions from getting too heated.
"There are strict rules in the detention center -- conversations about politics and cases are not allowed," said Sefer Halilovic, a former Bosnian Muslim general who was suspected of murder of Croat civilians during 1992-95, but later acquitted by the tribunal.
Serbian media reported that despite their political differences, detainees who used to be on opposite sides in the 1992-95 war in the Balkans would gather for religious holidays and even exchange presents. "The war separated us and The Hague has put us together again," wrote Halilovic in a book about his time in detention.
Others also noted the camaraderie that developed in the detention center.
According to former Macedonian interior minister Ljube Boskovski, who was also acquitted by the tribunal, when Ante Gotovina arrived in The Hague, he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt because he had been arrested in the Canary Islands. "The problem was resolved when (former Serbian strongman) Slobodan Milosevic lent him a pullover," Boskovski was quoted as saying. Gotovina was recently sentenced to 24 years for war crimes against Serbs in Croatia.
SMALL TALK
With political and legal discussions off-limits, small talk tends to center on food, family and health issues, such as the difficulty of getting access to the local dentist.
One of the most common complaints is the food: the vegetables served al dente are not to everyone's taste, but detainees can request items from a shopping list and prepare their own food.
"The food is not what we are used to in the Balkans. Vegetables are not cooked well enough and portions are too small so we had to buy our food in the canteen," Halilovic told Reuters. But his main complaint was the difficulty of getting a dentist appointment because there was only one dentist and a long waiting list.
Mladic, whose lawyers have argued that he is in poor health, is very likely to have access to good medical treatment, as the war crimes tribunal will not want another top war crimes suspect to die in detention in The Hague.
Slobodan Milosevic, who liked to listen to Celine Dion CDs in his cell, died in detention on March 11, 2006, a few months before a verdict in his four-year trial for genocide and other war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.
The center is located in a prison compound which houses a prison hospital and psychiatric clinic. Common criminals are housed there only if they are undergoing medical treatment, a Dutch Justice Ministry spokesman said.
Nerma Jelacic, a spokeswoman for the tribunal, said Mladic will be given a medical check-up when he arrives.
"The detainees can use prison medical facilities, but if they have severe problems we can use other prison hospitals or even civilian hospitals," Jelacic said.
Despite all the facilities, Halilovic said, "It is still a prison."
(Writing by Sara Webb; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
World
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Wednesday, 1 June 2011 Syria's Assad grants amnesty, 5 killed in crackdown
|
Karzai warns NATO not to become occupying force
|
Dutch seaside cell awaits Mladic
|
Israeli military says will stop new Gaza flotilla
|
Tunisian army battles to rescue 700 refugees from boat
|
Army probes Egypt blogger, TV host on abuse claims
|
Exclusive: Yahoo, Alibaba reach agreement over Alipay: sources
|
Sprint files to block AT&T/T-Mobile USA deal
|
WHO says cell phone use possibly carcinogenic
|
Sony to cut TV losses by about 50 percent in 2011/12: report
|
Online network Viadeo eyes Africa after shelving IPO
|
EU to warn foot-dragging states on e-privacy law
|
Cheryl Cole out of UK X Factor after U.S. hitch
|
Hip-hop star Sean Kingston stable after water crash
|
Coachella music festival doubling in 2012
|
Missing mother looms large in Korean novel
|
U.N. report highlights Japan nuclear plant flaws
|
Mladic to face genocide charges within days
|
North Korea says rejects South's secret summits offer
|
Japan PM faces party rebellion; no-confidence vote looms
|
Syria's Assad grants amnesty as 5 killed in crackdown
|
Philippine clan chief sparks gasps as he denies massacre
|
Grenade injures two at Bangkok yellow shirt rally
|
Dutch seaside cell for Mladic
|
Google wanted to team with Facebook, now fierce rival
|
Smart Money: Promise, drama in Yahoo's Asian assets
|
Yahoo, Alibaba reach deal over Alipay: sources
|
Lenovo launches $830 million takeover offer for German firm
|
U.S. arms makers said to be bleeding secrets to cyber foes
|
Lenovo sees PC market share in western Europe rising
|
Shanda Games in acquisition talks with social, mobile
|
Ericsson wins contract worth up to $1.2 billion in Australia
|
Blake Lively nude pictures fake, publicist says
|
Lady Gaga album sells 1.1 million copies in first week
|
Broadway posts larger takings for past season
|
DC relaunching comic book titles at issue No. 1
|
Explosions and street fighting grip Yemen capital
|
Libya's oil chief Ghanem defects, now in Rome
|
Turkish nationalists held in pre-poll tension
|
NATO extends Libya operations to September
|
Japan PM faces party rebellion ahead of confidence vote
|
Egypt's Mubarak, sons to be tried August 3
|
North Sudan proposes rotating Abyei administration
|
About 200 launch cross-border attack on Pakistan post
|
Nokia declines comment on report of Microsoft talks
|
Nokia on the ropes as analysts slash targets
|
Microsoft places restrictions on chipmakers: report
|
Hulu to show Miramax films under multi-year pact
|
North Korea hacker threat grows as cyber unit grows: defector
|
Adele cancels North American dates due to laryngitis
|
A Minute With: Beginners star Ewan McGregor
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights