The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Wednesday ordered Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, who faces genocide and war crimes charges, to undergo a full medical examination to show whether he is well enough to stand trial, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, prosecutors fear that Mladic, who is 69 and has frequently complained of ill health, could die without facing justice, as happened with former Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic, who died before he could be sentenced.
"A full report on the accused's health will assist the Chamber in the pre-trial stage to better assess whether and to what extent his health condition could affect the preparation of the upcoming trial," Reuters cited presiding judge Alphons Orie as saying.
Mladic, who was arrested in Serbia in May after 16 years on the run, is accused of genocide for his role in the siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo and for orchestrating the killing of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995, in Europe's worst massacre since World War Two.
