Convicted Balkans war-criminal swallows poison right after sentence, then dies

[Tender Branson]

A former Bosnian Croat general has died after drinking a phial of poison at a UN tribunal in The Hague, where his war crimes sentence of 20 years was upheld on Wednesday, a court spokesman has confirmed.

Seconds after his sentence was upheld at the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Slobodan Praljak, shouted out angrily: “Praljak is not a criminal. I reject your verdict.”

The 72-year-old then raised a small brown bottle to his lips, and drank it in full view of the cameras filming the hearing. “I just drank poison,” he said. “I am not a war criminal. I oppose this conviction.”



The official statement from the ICTY said: “Mr Slobodan Praljak, one of six defence appellants in the Prlić et al. case, passed away today in HMC Hospital in The Hague.

“During the public pronouncement of the appeal judgement the appeals chamber confirmed his conviction and affirmed Mr Praljak’s sentence of 20 years of imprisonment. Immediately thereafter, Mr Praljak drank a liquid while in court, and quickly fell ill.

“Mr Praljak was immediately assisted by the ICTY medical staff. Simultaneously an ambulance was summoned. Mr Praljak was transported to a nearby hospital to receive further medical assistance where he passed.

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2017/nov/29/un-war-crimes-defendant-claims-to-drink-poison-at-trial-in-hague-slobodan-praljak

[Zioneer]

How excessively dramatic.

[Helsinkian]

I believe that's called "pulling a Göring".

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

RIP HP

[Esteemed Jimmy]

RIP HP

[Aboa]

How excessively dramatic.

Well he was theater director...

[Crumpets]

It's an amusing headline, but pretty horrifying to watch. I imagine most people in that court room will have a rough sleep tonight.

[Zinneke]

How excessively dramatic.

And an insight into the mindset of these guys.

[Kingpoleon]

He wouldn’t have lived the twenty years.

Are we sure this isn’t some drug that fakes death?

[Zuza]

Are we sure this isn’t some drug that fakes death?

We can be absolutely sure; his death is confirmed.

[Aboa]

He wouldn’t have lived the twenty years.

Due to the time already served he would have been released in 2024.

[America Needs R'hllor]

RIP HP

I wish him no peace.

[DavidB.]

Will make him a martyr to nationalist Croats forever. A typical end not only to his lifetime but also to the lifetime of the Tribunal, which was never about real justice or about making neighboring peoples reconcile and always about non-Balkan judges punishing the Christian Serbs and Croats because it made Americans and Western Europeans feel good.

Edit: "Appropriate" was the wrong word. I do not think it is appropriate to think of Praljak as a martyr, but it is inevitable that Croat nationalists think of him that way. "Typical" was more... appropriate.

[IceSpear]

Disappointed that nobody posted the Slobodan Milosevic Blingee.

[Devout Centrist]

Will make him a martyr to nationalist Croats forever. An appropriate end not only to his lifetime but also to the lifetime of the Tribunal, which was never about real justice or about making neighboring peoples reconcile and always about non-Balkan judges punishing the Christian Serbs and Croats because it made Americans and Western Europeans feel good.

Oh, now genocide apology. That's new.

[Zioneer]

Will make him a martyr to nationalist Croats forever. A typical end not only to his lifetime but also to the lifetime of the Tribunal, which was never about real justice or about making neighboring peoples reconcile and always about non-Balkan judges punishing the Christian Serbs and Croats because it made Americans and Western Europeans feel good.

Uh..... are you saying the Serbs and Croats did nothing wrong, or...?

[DavidB.]

Will make him a martyr to nationalist Croats forever. A typical end not only to his lifetime but also to the lifetime of the Tribunal, which was never about real justice or about making neighboring peoples reconcile and always about non-Balkan judges punishing the Christian Serbs and Croats because it made Americans and Western Europeans feel good.

Uh..... are you saying the Serbs and Croats did nothing wrong, or...?

No, of course not. What I'm saying is that ICTY let Bosnian Muslims get off the hook and almost solely focused on punishing Serbs and Croats, which is completely in line with the American geopolitical direction (at least at the time). Doesn't excuse any of the bad things Croat and Serbian leaders did.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

There are Muslims that have been charged and tried by the ICTY.

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

There are Muslims that have been charged and tried by the ICTY.

...And?

[Lord Halifax]

There are Muslims that have been charged and tried by the ICTY.

...And?

So it isn't just Serbs and Croats (as DavidB seemingly implied). The context was very clear, so a bit of a stupid question.

[DavidB.]

There are Muslims that have been charged and tried by the ICTY.

The exceptions that prove the rule.

[Lord Halifax]

There are Muslims that have been charged and tried by the ICTY.

The exceptions that prove the rule.

But Bosniaks made up far less of the war criminals than Serbs and Croats. Not because they were morally superior, but simply because they were the weaker part. So its natural that the main focus has been on the Serbs, who committed most of the atrocities, then on the Croats, and with the least focus on the (fewer and on average smaller) Bosniak atrocities.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The Bosniaks also mostly just engaged in war to defend their own territories. They weren't engaging in large scale ethnic cleansing like the Croats and Serbs were.

In Kosovo the Kosovars were actually trying to ethnically cleanse out the Serb population...but as a result indictees there from the Kosovar and Serb sides are closer to parity.