XPost: alt.obituaries, soc.rights.human

On Wed, 29 Nov 2017 08:46:58 -0800 (PST), That Derek
<thatderek@yahoo.com> wrote:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-warcrimes-bosnia/bosnian-croat-war-crimes-convict-dies-after-taking-poison-in-court-tv-idUSKBN1DT1E7

#World News

November 29, 2017 / 5:56 AM / Updated an hour ago

Bosnian-Croat war crimes convict dies after taking 'poison' in court:
TV

Stephanie van den Berg, Bart H. Meijer

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - A Bosnian Croat wartime commander died after
swallowing what he said was poison in a U.N. war crimes courtroom on
Wednesday after losing an appeal against a 20-year prison sentence,
Croatian state TV said.

Slobodan Praljak, 72, died in hospital in the Hague after he was seen
drinking from a flask or glass as a U.N. judge read out the ruling
against him and five other suspects, state TV reported, citing unnamed
sources.

The apparent courtroom suicide, which was broadcast on a video feed,
came in the final minutes of the last judgment at the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which closes next
month.

“I just drank poison,” he said. “I am not a war criminal. I oppose
this conviction.”

After gulping down the drink, Praljak sat back down and slumped in his
chair, a lawyer who was in the courtroom at the time said.

U.N. court representatives and Dutch hospital officials declined to
comment on his condition.

Croatian General Marinko Kresic, speaking earlier on Croatian TV, said
he had spoken to the wife of another defendant, Milivoje Petkovic, who
was in The Hague. “She confirmed that he drank the poison and that he
is in a very grave health condition,” he said.

The presiding Judge Carmel Agius suspended the hearings and paramedics
raced to the courtroom, which was declared a crime scene by Dutch
authorities. As forensic investigation got underway, the courtroom was
sealed off, and the public was instructed to leave.

“Don’t take away the glass,” Agius said, instructing the guards to
lower blinds and block a glass-partition separating the court from the
public.

In the chaotic moments that followed, guards and paramedics raced in
and out of the courtroom. Ambulances were seen leaving the tribunal,
but there was no official confirmation of Praljak’s condition.

A reading of the judgment, which was also deciding on charges against
five other suspects, resumed more than two hours after Praljak said he
had poisoned himself.

”The Dutch authorities have already commenced an investigation into
what happened this morning,” he said.

The incident upstaged the appeals ruling, which was important for
Croatia, where parliament was suspended so lawmakers could follow the
reading of the verdict.

“NOT A WAR CRIMINAL”

The court upheld convictions of Praljak and five other Bosnian Croats:
Jadranko Prlic, the political leader of the Croatian province of
Bosnia, along with military and police figures Bruno Stojic, Milivoj
Petrovic, Valentin Coric and Berislav Pusic.

Judges upheld findings that there was a criminal conspiracy that
included the regime of neighbor Croatia under then-President Franjo
Tudjman with the goal of “ethnic cleansing of the Muslim population”
of parts of Bosnia to ensure Croatian domination.

The defendants on Wednesday received sentences ranging from 10 to 25
years. The decision cannot be appealed.

The chairman of Bosnia’s inter-ethnic presidency, Dragan Covic, a
Croat, said: “He showed before the whole world what kind of sacrifice
he is ready to make to prove that he is not a war criminal.”


--
Steve Hayes
http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
http://khanya.wordpress.com

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