Former Bosnian military leader Ratko Mladić [ICTY profile] on Thursday appealed his conviction [case materials] to the UN Mechanism for International Tribunals [official website].

Mladić was tried and convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, then sentenced [JURIST report] to life imprisonment in November 22.

On appeal, the defense cited time constraints that left them unable to review the record, conduct post-trial investigations nor conduct adequate research. Defense also stated that Mladić was not in an adequate mental condition as confirmed by neurologists during the trial.

The defense contended that Mladić’s rights to due process were violated by the ICTY trial court. It claimed the trial court admitted evidence based on incidents that were “unscheduled” and “non-identifiable.” The defense also claimed the trial court relied on testimony from discredited witnesses provided by the prosecution.

Mladic’s defense further contended that the trial court did not differentiate nor ascertain whether victims were civilian or military. It raised concerns that the trial court may have had a bias against Mladić and, therefore, did not objectively review the evidence on record. The trial court “[failed] to analyze the totality of evidence and ignoring arguments advanced by the Defense; relying on insufficient evidence or improperly on Adjudicated Facts,” argued Mladić’s defense.

The appeal states that errors of law should invalidate judgment, and errors of fact signal miscarriage of justice. The defense challenged Mladić’s life sentence and requested to review the trial transcript.