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Reports have it that Slobodan Praljak, a former Bosnian Croat official who was on trial Wednesday at the Hague, Netherlands for war crimes has died after drinking poison.
Praljak, 72, was filmed drinking the poison in court on Wednesday, throwng the session into confusion and forcing the judge to suspend the hearing..
He was standing trial for war crimes against Bosnian Muslims during the war in the Balkans in the 1990s.
After judges upheld his 20-year prison sentence slammed on him in 2013, he stood up to address the court
He said: “Judges, Slobodan Praljak is not a war criminal. With disdain, I reject this verdict.”
And ignoring calls from the judge to sit down, he drank from what appeared to be a small vial, and said: “I have taken poison”.
The judge immediately suspended the hearing and Praljak was rushed to the hospital for treatment. He died in the hospital.
In a dramatic turn of events, former Bosnian Croat General Slobodan Praljak appeared to drink what he said was poison at the ICTY. pic.twitter.com/V3yZLW5sBT
— Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (@RFERL) November 29, 2017
Praljak, a former assistant minister of defense of Croatia, became commander of the main staff of the former Croatian Defense Council, a militia operating in Bosnia.
The Yugoslav army targeted Bosnian Muslims and Croats killing more than 100,000 people.
Gen. Ratko Mladic, known as the “Butcher of Bosnia,” was given a lofe sentence last week after he was convicted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.