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.
(photo credit: JPOST STAFF)