Slobodan Praljak, former general of the Croatian forces in Bosnia, "died in a hospital in The Hague after ingesting poison" in a courtroom of the International Criminal Tribunal. This was announced by the official Croatian agency Hina.
Praljak, 72, committed suicide on live TV, immediately after hearing the judge confirm his 20-year prison sentence. “I am not a criminal, I reject your verdict,” he shouted before pulling a vial from his jacket and drinking its contents. His lawyer raised the alarm, revealing that it was poison. The judges present immediately suspended the hearing and alerted the emergency services, which arrived shortly after.
The death was announced by various Croatian media, including the N1 broadcaster and the main newspapers Jutarnji List and Vecernji List, before being confirmed by Hina, who cited a source close to the accused.
An engineer, later theater director, Praljak was not originally a military man, but by the outbreak of war he had rapidly climbed all the ranks of the Croatian forces. Senior head of the armed forces of the Croatian republic of Herceg-Bosna, which fought the Bosnians in 1993-94, he has been cited as one of the main perpetrators of the destruction of the Ottoman bridge in Mostar. But for many Croatians he remains a hero.
Last week, the Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic had sent a message of tribute, during the promotion of a work in his honor, "General Praljak".
"General Slobodan Praljak's contribution was of immense importance both for the defense of Croatia," the president said. Before the announcement of Praljak's death in the Croatian media, the president "urgently" interrupted a trip to Iceland.
