Crowds gathered in Belgrade on Monday for the funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic, as the European Union accused some in Serbia of glorifying a man convicted of genocide and other crimes during the 1990s war in Bosnia.
Mladic died in late August at age 84 while serving a life sentence in The Hague after being convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Bosnian war.
Mourners began arriving at St. Luka Church in Belgrade at 7:00 a.m. (5:00 a.m. GMT) to pay their respects. Many kissed Mladic’s closed coffin as Serbian Orthodox priests recited prayers.
Police closed several streets around the church as crowds grew throughout the morning.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporters saw large crowds gathered outside the church, many wearing shirts praising Mladic. Aerial footage showed hundreds of mourners lining up to enter the church after the doors opened.
