Questions And Conflicted Emotions Trail A War Criminal's Courtroom Suicide
The scene ended quickly: Slobodan Praljak declared innocence, drank what he called poison and died soon after. Dutch investigators' questions — and many Croats' ill feelings — will linger much longer.
It happened in the span of a few confused minutes.
Moments after hearing that his 20-year sentence for war crimes had been upheld, Slobodan Praljak defied the admonitions of his judges, declared his innocence a final time — and with eyes wide, as if shocked himself at what he was doing, put a tiny glass to his lips and gulped deeply. "I just drank poison," he exclaimed after lowering the glass. And the presiding judge asked for the curtains
