Slobodan Praljak

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday he would in no way mock Bosnian Croat Slobodan Praljak for committing suicide in the ICTY's courtroom on Wednesday after being convicted by the tribunal, and noted the EU's double standards were what he saw as the problem.

THE HAGUE - The ICTY on Wednesday upheld the sentences for all six former senior officials of the so-called Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna and the Croatian Defence Council accused in the Prlic et al. case, handing them a total of 111 years in prison for their participation in a joint criminal enterprise led by the then leadership of Croatia.

As Dutch prosecutors confirmed that Bosnian Croat military chief Slobodan Praljak took poison before he died, the Hague Tribunal launched an independent review to establish what went wrong at the UN court.

Croatia’s president and media expressed shock at the courtroom suicide of Slobodan Praljak, while simulateously criticising the Hague Tribunal’s conviction of six wartime Bosnian Croat military and political leaders.

The Public Prosecution Service in The Hague has opened an inquiry into the possible ‘assisted suicide’ of Slobodan Praljak, who died after saying he had taken poison in court during his verdict.

The suicide of Bosnian Croat military chief Slobodan Praljak at the Hague Tribunal diverted attention from his verdict, but the testimonies of war victims show how serious his crimes were.

One of Britain’s most respected reporters on the Balkan wars of the 1990s has recalled his two encounters, in court and out, with Slobodan Praljak, the war criminal who committed suicide at the Hague Tribunal.

Slobodan Praljak, whom the The Hague Tribunal (ICTY) on Wednesday sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes, died after drinking poison in the courtroom.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic confirmed this during an extraordinary news conference, and offered his condolences to the family.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic confirmed this during an extraordinary news conference, and offered his condolences to the family.

A spokesman for the ICTY, Nenad Golcevski, also confirmed the death, and said Dutch authorities had launched an independent investigation.

UN judges have suspended a court hearing after a war crimes suspect "took poison" when his 20-year sentence was upheld, Sky News reported.

Moments after his conviction appeal was rejected, former Croatian army chief Slobodan Praljak appeared to drink from a small bottle and yelled "I am not a war criminal, I oppose this conviction".