War Criminal Dies After Drinking Poison in The Hague

Croatian war criminal Slobadan Praljak killed himself by drinking poison in The Hague moments after a U.N. appeals judge upheld his 20-year sentence. After the verdict, Praljak shouted, “Praljak is not a criminal. I reject your verdict,” and drank from a small brown bottle. “I just drank poison,” he said. “I am not a war criminal. I oppose this conviction.” State TV reported the 72-year-old later died at a hospital. Praljak was one of six former Bosnian leaders convicted in 2013 of persecuting, expelling, and murdering Muslims in an effort to create a Croat mini-state in Bosnia during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.