The funeral of Ratko Mladić, the convicted 'butcher of Bosnia', drew an unprecedented crowd to St Luka church in Belgrade on 7 September 2026.
Mladić, who died at age 84 while serving a life sentence in The Hague, remains a symbol for many Serbian nationalists despite his conviction for genocide during the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
The event was originally planned as a state funeral, but the European Union denounced the notion of 'glorifying' a war criminal, arguing that such acts have no place in EU or candidate countries.
The funeral service was led by Patriarch Porfirije, who acknowledged his memory in prayers, while several Serbian ministers, including defence minister Bratislav Gašić, stood in the crowd to pay respects.
Long queues surfaced hours before the ceremony, with veterans and men draped in flags bearing Mladić’s portrait. Concessions were offered through free bus services across Serbia and Bosnia to allow fans to attend.
Violets of grief intermingled with national heroes; however, many in Sarajevo mourned the tragedy, with a father who lost a son during the siege lamenting the event as a 'promotional' of a butcher.
The funeral has highlighted the struggles of post‑conflict societies to reckon with their past, a point underscored by journalists who noted that Serbian media still narrates him in heroic terms."
