A U.N. war crimes tribunal was suspended after former Bosnian Croat commander Slobodan Praljak claimed to have drunk poison from a small bottle. The judge had just reconfirmed his 20-year prison sentence for war crimes during Bosnia's war. (Associated Press)Shortly after hearing his fate, former Bosnian Croat military chief Slobodan Praljak shouted “I am not a war criminal!” and lifted a vial of liquid to his lips. A short time later, he told the confused court — and the judge who had affirmed his 20-year sentence for murdering Muslims and other war crimes — “I just drank poison.”His death was reported by Croatian state TV later on Wednesday. It was a defiant final act for the 72-year-old accused of ethnic cleansing two decades ago in a failed attempt to create a Bosnian Croat ministate, according to the Associated Press.

Source: Washington Post November 29, 2017 15:37 UTC