Bosnian war criminal dies after 'drinking poison' in court as he loses appeal
Danny Boyle
29 NOVEMBER 2017 • 1:53PM
A convicted war criminal has died after he claimed to have drunk poison in a courtroom at The Hague when he lost an appeal, according to Croatian state media.
Slobodan Praljak, a former Bosnian commander, was attending a court hearing in the Netherlands on Wednesday morning.
As a former leader of the Croat forces, he had been sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment in 2013 for crimes in East Mostar.
On hearing from judges at the International Criminal Tribunal that his sentence had been upheld, Praljak appeared to drink from a small brown bottle after yelling: "I am not a war criminal."
Video footage from inside the courtroom showed him stand and tip his head back as he brought the small item to his mouth. The 72-year-old seemingly swallowed the liquid.
Slobodan Praljak screamed 'I am not a war criminal' before raising the liquid to his mouth
Slobodan Praljak screamed 'I am not a war criminal' before raising the liquid to his mouth
Slobodan Praljak
He brought the liquid - in a small brown bottle - to his mouth
Slobodan Praljak
Slobodan Praljak tipped his head back as he seemingly drained the liquid
Praljak's defence lawyer told the court her client "had taken poison".
The lead judge called for the curtains to be brought down and the United Nations war crimes appeal hearing was suspended.
Slobodan Praljak
Slobodan Praljak's fellow defendants look on as he seemingly drinks a liquid which his lawyer told the court was poison
A court guard told reporters that Praljak was "receiving medical attention". Croatian state TV later reported that Praljak had died.
Praljak was one of six former Bosnian Croat political and military leaders appearing before the appeal court.
An official said the courtroom is now a crime scene.
Slobodan Praljak
They had appealed against their convictions for involvement in crimes as Croat forces attempted to carve out a Croat mini-state in Bosnia by driving Muslims from towns and villages during the 1992-95 war.
Three out of the six defendants at the last case at the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had their sentences confirmed.
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