It’s been reported a convicted war criminal died after swallowing a bottle poison immediately after his prison sentence was handed down.
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Slobodan Praljak was found guilty of being involved of crimes during the Bosnian War in the 1990s and was given a 20-year jail sentence by a United Nations judge.
As soon as the judge finished laying out the sentence, Praljak loudly declared that he is “not a war criminal” and said, “I reject your verdict with scorn.” He then drank from a small bottle presumed to be poison, according to Time.
The judge moved on to sentencing another alleged war criminal and while he was speaking, an interpreter for Praljak interrupted to state that Praljak had just said that he swallowed poison.
Chaos slowly began to take over the courtroom as many of the officials began to stir, clearly very perplexed by what was happening. The cameras then turned off, it seems.
The 72-year-old had been in law enforcement custody prior to his hearing so there is currently no confirmation of how he was able to acquire a bottle of poison.
While it is being reported that Praljak has died, a spokesman for the Tribunal overseeing the hearings initially told reporters that there was “no information to share at this point,” when asked about Praljak’s suspected death.
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