BELGRADE  - Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army chief who was taken to hospital Thursday after falling ill during his war crimes trial, is blamed for the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II. Dubbed the “Butcher of Bosnia”, Mladic is on trial before the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war that claimed some 100,000 lives. The former Bosnian Serb army chief was taken to hospital after suddenly being taken ill during his trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal. “Mladic was feeling unwell and he was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure,” Nerma Jelacic, a spokeswoman for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, told. Mladic’s lawyer said the 70-year-old, who is on trial for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, was in “bad shape”. The man known as the “Butcher of Bosnia” has complained before of health issues, with his lawyer Branko Lukic saying that Mladic has suffered three strokes and a heart attack in the past. Last year he was also treated for pneumonia and suffers from kidney stones. “He couldn’t communicate with anybody and he couldn’t open his eyes, he couldn’t stand up,” Lukic said after Mladic was taken ill, adding that his client was taken to hospital “but I don’t know where”. He said Mladic was “in a good mood this morning, nothing was pointing (to the fact) that he was feeling unwell.” Prosecution witness David Harland, a former UN political advisor during the war, was giving evidence when judge Alphons Orie noticed something was amiss with Mladic and suspended the hearing. Groups representing families of victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II, have in the past voiced concern over Mladic’s health, saying they were afraid he might die before his trial was concluded.