A War Criminal Drank Poison in Court, and Died. How Could This Happen?
- 6 years ago
A War Criminal Drank Poison in Court, and Died. How Could This Happen?
On Friday, Dutch prosecutors announced that Mr. Praljak had died of heart failure after ingesting potassium cyanide — a highly toxic compound — and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia announced
that it would conduct its own "independent, expert review" of Mr. Praljak’s suicide.
1, 2017
The former Bosnian Croat military commander Slobodan Praljak swallowed what he said was poison
and died on Wednesday after judges confirmed his sentence of 20 years in prison for war crimes.
PARIS — The moment was dramatic enough: In a courtroom in The Hague on Wednesday, a military commander from the former Yugoslavia pulled out a small bottle and drank from it, declaring
that he had ingested poison to protest his conviction for war crimes.
They were subjected to body searches when they left their detention center — inside a high-security Dutch prison —
and again when they arrived at the tribunal building.
" Ms. Pinter said. that From the start, 13 years ago, he told me he could not bear being called a war criminal,
And he told her: Don’t come to The Hague." Ms. Pinter recalled: "Last weekend I called him
and asked him if he would like me to visit him before the judgment.
Visitors also face tough security checks, said Ms. Fauveau Ivanovic, the defense lawyer, first to enter the high-security Dutch prison,
and then again at the United Nations detention unit set within the compound.
On Friday, Dutch prosecutors announced that Mr. Praljak had died of heart failure after ingesting potassium cyanide — a highly toxic compound — and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia announced
that it would conduct its own "independent, expert review" of Mr. Praljak’s suicide.
1, 2017
The former Bosnian Croat military commander Slobodan Praljak swallowed what he said was poison
and died on Wednesday after judges confirmed his sentence of 20 years in prison for war crimes.
PARIS — The moment was dramatic enough: In a courtroom in The Hague on Wednesday, a military commander from the former Yugoslavia pulled out a small bottle and drank from it, declaring
that he had ingested poison to protest his conviction for war crimes.
They were subjected to body searches when they left their detention center — inside a high-security Dutch prison —
and again when they arrived at the tribunal building.
" Ms. Pinter said. that From the start, 13 years ago, he told me he could not bear being called a war criminal,
And he told her: Don’t come to The Hague." Ms. Pinter recalled: "Last weekend I called him
and asked him if he would like me to visit him before the judgment.
Visitors also face tough security checks, said Ms. Fauveau Ivanovic, the defense lawyer, first to enter the high-security Dutch prison,
and then again at the United Nations detention unit set within the compound.