THE HAGUE - A wartime commander of Bosnian Croat forces "drank poison" during a hearing at the U.N. war crimes tribunal on Wednesday at which his 20-year prison sentence was upheld, his lawyer said.
Slobodan Praljak, 72, tilted back his head and took a swing from a flask or glass as the judge read out the verdict.
"My client says he drank poison this morning," defense attorney Natasa Faveau-Ivanovic said.
After drinking Praljak told the court: "I am not a war criminal, I oppose this conviction."
The presiding judge suspended the hearing and called for a doctor.It was the last judgment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), established by the United Nations in 1993, before it closes next month.