War Crimes Court To Hold Independent Probe Into Praljak Death.

A UN war crimes court said Friday it is launching an
“independent expert review” into the death of a Bosnian Croat war
criminal who appeared to drink poison in front of shocked
judges.

The probe will complement the Dutch investigation into the
suicide of Slobodan Praljak, the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said in a statement.

Praljak, 72, died in hospital shortly after drinking from a
small brown glass bottle in the ICTY courtroom on Wednesday, with
his lawyer claiming it was poison.

His final act of defiance, which was broadcast live around the
world, came just moments after judges rejected his appeal,
upholding his 20-year jail term for atrocities committed in a
breakaway Bosnian Croat statelet during the 1990s wars.

On Thursday, Dutch prosecutor Marilyn Fikenscher told AFP that
initial tests showed the bottle contained “a chemical substance
which can cause death” although they have yet to carry out an
autopsy or toxicology tests.

The shocking images drew the curtain on two decades of work at
the court, set up in 1993 to try those responsible for the worst
atrocities in Europe since World War II.

But it remains a mystery what the former theatre and movie
director, known for his forcible courtroom presence and outbursts,
drank and how he managed to get it past the tight security at the
tribunal.

– ‘Couldn’t live with it’ –

Speaking to Croatia’s HINA news agency, Praljak’s lawyer Nika
Pinter said she had no idea what her client was about to do.

“Nobody killed him, it was suicide. I am sad but I understand
and respect what he did,” she told the agency Thursday on board a
flight from Amsterdam to Zagreb.

“I never thought he could do such a thing, but I understand
because he is a man of honour who couldn’t live with a conviction
for war crimes and being led out of the courtroom in
handcuffs.”

The lawyer said that during conversations ahead of the verdict,
Praljak had never given any hint of what he was planning, but she
said it was clear her client would find it very difficult to accept
the court’s confirmation of his 20-year sentence.

– Assisted suicide? –

Dutch prosecutors have already launched a full investigation at
the court’s request, including into security lapses, and have said
their probe will focus on “assisted suicide and violation of the
Medicines Act”.

The UN court probe, which will begin next week, will look at
“ICTY internal operations” in order to assess “relevant existing
procedures as well as make any recommendations which may assist
other courts in the future,” the statement said.

It will be led by justice Hassan B. Jallow, chief justice of The
Gambia and former prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda, and will aim to issue a report by the time the court
closes on December 31, with its conclusions to be made public.

Major questions remain about how Praljak obtained the substance
and if it happened at the fortress-like UN detention centre in
Scheveningen where he was being held, or inside the tribunal
building a few miles away.

Everyone entering the UN detention centre is subjected to
security checks “irrespective of his or her status, nationality,
function or age,” according to the rules.

And everyone must pass through scanners. Every item brought to
the centre or sent by mail is also inspected, or opened or
X-rayed.

AFP

A UN war crimes court said Friday it is launching an
“independent expert review” into the death of a Bosnian Croat war
criminal who appeared to drink poison in front of shocked
judges.

The probe will complement the Dutch investigation into the
suicide of Slobodan Praljak, the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said in a statement.

Praljak, 72, died in hospital shortly after drinking from a
small brown glass bottle in the ICTY courtroom on Wednesday, with
his lawyer claiming it was poison.

His final act of defiance, which was broadcast live around the
world, came just moments after judges rejected his appeal,
upholding his 20-year jail term for atrocities committed in a
breakaway Bosnian Croat statelet during the 1990s wars.

On Thursday, Dutch prosecutor Marilyn Fikenscher told AFP that
initial tests showed the bottle contained “a chemical substance
which can cause death” although they have yet to carry out an
autopsy or toxicology tests.

The shocking images drew the curtain on two decades of work at
the court, set up in 1993 to try those responsible for the worst
atrocities in Europe since World War II.

But it remains a mystery what the former theatre and movie
director, known for his forcible courtroom presence and outbursts,
drank and how he managed to get it past the tight security at the
tribunal.

– ‘Couldn’t live with it’ –

Speaking to Croatia’s HINA news agency, Praljak’s lawyer Nika
Pinter said she had no idea what her client was about to do.

“Nobody killed him, it was suicide. I am sad but I understand
and respect what he did,” she told the agency Thursday on board a
flight from Amsterdam to Zagreb.

“I never thought he could do such a thing, but I understand
because he is a man of honour who couldn’t live with a conviction
for war crimes and being led out of the courtroom in
handcuffs.”

The lawyer said that during conversations ahead of the verdict,
Praljak had never given any hint of what he was planning, but she
said it was clear her client would find it very difficult to accept
the court’s confirmation of his 20-year sentence.

– Assisted suicide? –

Dutch prosecutors have already launched a full investigation at
the court’s request, including into security lapses, and have said
their probe will focus on “assisted suicide and violation of the
Medicines Act”.

The UN court probe, which will begin next week, will look at
“ICTY internal operations” in order to assess “relevant existing
procedures as well as make any recommendations which may assist
other courts in the future,” the statement said.

It will be led by justice Hassan B. Jallow, chief justice of The
Gambia and former prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda, and will aim to issue a report by the time the court
closes on December 31, with its conclusions to be made public.

Major questions remain about how Praljak obtained the substance
and if it happened at the fortress-like UN detention centre in
Scheveningen where he was being held, or inside the tribunal
building a few miles away.

Everyone entering the UN detention centre is subjected to
security checks “irrespective of his or her status, nationality,
function or age,” according to the rules.

And everyone must pass through scanners. Every item brought to
the centre or sent by mail is also inspected, or opened or
X-rayed.

AFP