The convict heard the decision and took out the vial with cyanide. “I reject such a verdict”
Onet
The case of Slobodan Praljak is one of the most famous in the history of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which was established on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 827 of May 25, 1993.
The Tribunal tries war crimes committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since January 1, 1991. Its seat is The Hague. According to the ICTY, Slobodan Praljak took part in mass war crimes against the population during the Bosnian-Muslim war of 1992-1994. The Croatian leader pleaded not guilty and was to defend himself in court without a lawyer.
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From filmmaker to general
Slobodan Praljak was a Croatian engineer, theater and film director, businessman and writer. He completed three faculties. In 1991, when Croatia, a federal republic of Yugoslavia, declared independence, a year before the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he voluntarily joined the armed forces of the Republic of Croatia and was promoted to the rank of major general.
In his military career, he had both glorious moments (e.g., he led to the release of a detained convoy of humanitarian aid for Mostar) and controversial ones (he was accused of, among others, that the troops under his command destroyed the famous stone Old Bridge over the Neretva in Mostar in 1993), as well as those that resulted in an ICTY verdict. The latter included, among others: events in the shepherd's settlement of Stupni Do, where a unit of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO), led by Praljak, murdered 39 Muslim inhabitants. The Stupnia Do massacre is considered “the only war crime whose direct perpetrator was proven against Praljak,” writes “Rzeczpospolita.”
Slobodan Praljak was among six Bosnian Croats indicted and convicted by the ICC for the former Yugoslavia for war crimes. He voluntarily submitted himself to the court in 2004. The trial began in 2006, and in 2013 the ICTY issued a verdict. Praljak was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In the same year he filed an appeal. The appeals court upheld the earlier verdict four years later.
“I reject your judgment with contempt”
“Slobodan Praljak is not a war criminal, I reject your verdict with contempt,” a 72-year-old Croatian shouted moments after the ICTY's decision was announced. A moment later, he tilted the small vial and swallowed its contents. He said, “I drank poison.” It was not possible to explain where he obtained the vial of cyanide. He was still alive, doctors were called. The next day, news of his death spread. The event was followed live by numerous websites in the Balkans, which broadcast directly on the Internet the reading of the verdict in The Hague. The filmed scene of Praljak's suicide is still available online.
The courtroom where Praljak drank the fatal substance was considered a crime scene, but a subsequent internal investigation did not reveal any misconduct by the tribunal. There were no procedural errors. Interestingly, Praljak took his own life when he had already served part of his sentence.
During the investigation, he allegedly behaved domineering and brash, “Rzeczpospolita” reported. The court had to admonish him several times. He never pleaded guilty. So far, it has not been explained how he came into possession of the lethal dose of poison.
As ICTY judge Hassan Bubacar Jallow said in an interview with dw.com in 2018, the lethal dose of cyanide in the size of a tablet is from 200 to 300 mg. Both in powder and solution form, it is difficult to detect, even in the case of a strip search. Even special X-ray devices used for searching may not detect it.
Source: rp.pl, dw.com, polsatnews.pl, pl.wikipedia.org
