Bosnian Croat war crimes convict Slobodan Praljak dies after drinking poison in ICTY
Slobodan Praljak, a Bosnian Croat war leader, died after allegedly drinking poison at a Hague Tribunal sitting at which his 20-year jail sentence for war crimes was confirmed, a report on November 29 by Croatian state television HRT said. The report was later confirmed by the Croatian government.
Praljak (72), was one of six former Bosnian Croat political and military leaders up before the court, the Independent Balkan News Agency reports.
He was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in 2013 for crimes in the city of Mostar.
On hearing that his sentence had been upheld, he drank from a small bottle and told the judge, “I have taken poison”.
The six were attending the final appeals judgment to be handed down by the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Praljak, the former commander of the main staff of the Bosnian Croat defence forces (HVO), was jailed for crimes against humanity, the BBC said.
Informed that soldiers were rounding up Muslims in Prozor in the summer of 1993, he had failed to make any serious efforts to stop the action, the UN war crimes tribunal found.
