Bosnian Croat war criminal drinks poison in court after judge upholds 20 yr sentence (vid)

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Slobodan Praljak, 72, died in hospital on Wednesday shortly after downing a small vial of liquid, which he drank after declaring he was innocent.
His 20-year sentence for war crimes in Bosnia had just been reaffirmed.

Some Bosnian Croats have held vigils to remember a man they regard as a hero.

Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic made a scathing attack on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which tried him.

The confirmation rulings against Praljak and five other defendants brought an end to more than 20 years of work by the tribunal.

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Who was Praljak?

Though allies against the Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-95 civil war, Bosnian Croats and Muslims also fought each other for a period of 11 months, with Mostar seeing some of the fiercest fighting.

Praljak was convicted in 2013 of crimes against humanity committed while commanding Bosnian Croat forces. The ICTY found that he had:

Failed to make any serious efforts to stop his soldiers rounding up Muslims in the summer of 1993

Failed to act on information that murders were being planned, as well as attacks on members of international organisations and the destruction of Mostar's historic Old Bridge and mosques

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