The UN's Yugoslav war crimes tribunal has ordered an independent probe into Slobodan Praljak's suicide. The Bosnian Croat ex-general swallowed what he said was poison in the courtroom and died soon after.
Image: ICTY
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The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) announced on Friday that it was launching its own investigation into court's "internal operations" after Bosnian Croat former general Slobodan Praljak managed to seemingly commit suicide in front of stunned judges.
The tribunal had come under pressure to act, following comments from Croatia's justice minister criticizing the speed of response by security and medical staff in the criminal courtroom.
The ICTY review, which will be headed by Hassan Jallow, a former prosecutor with the UN's Rwanda war crimes tribunal, will also aim to determine how Praljak obtained and smuggled the bottle into the courtroom.
According to tribunal rules, everyone entering the UN detention center is subjected to security checks "irrespective of his or her status, nationality, function or age." Every item either brought or sent into the center is inspected, open or X-rayed.
The review is set to begin next week, with a report due to be submitted by December 31.
Dutch authorities plan Praljak autopsy
The Netherlands' Public Prosecution Service announced Thursday that they would launch an investigation into security lapses during the incident, before announcing Friday that they plan to conduct an autopsy on Praljak's body.
Dutch investigators have already determined that the bottle Praljak drank from contained "a chemical substance which can cause death," although what the precise toxic chemical was remains unknown.
Croatia's Justice Minister Drazen Bosnjakovic said his government would ask Dutch authorities to be included in the ongoing investigation. Speaking to Croatian state television, Bosnjakovic said that "much remains unclear, including how the poison was taken in, why security didn't react in time and why medical help arrived so late."
In pictures: What Slobodan Praljak and other Bosnian Croat generals were convicted for
In 2013, the UN court in The Hague convicted six ex-generals of the Bosnian Croat army for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Bosnian War. They were set to hear their fate at a final hearing on Wednesday.
Image: picture-alliance/E. Ciccomartino/R.Har
Six generals
The UN court on Wednesday upheld the sentences of Jadranko Prlić (left), Bruno Stojić (center left) and Slobodan Praljak (center) before Praljak drank what he claimed was poison, and later died. Milivoj Petković (center right), Valentin Čorić (right) and Berislav Pušić (not pictured) also had their existing convictions upheld.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images/R. v. Lonkhuijsen
Bosnian crime scenes
The generals were involved in directing the Croatian Defense Council (HVO), the Bosnian Croat army that carried out ethnic cleansing in eight areas in central and southern Bosnia: Čapljina, Gornji Vakuf, Jablanica, Ljubuški, Mostar, Prozor, Stolac and Vareš. Many victims were Muslim Bosniaks, but the HVO also targeted other non-Croat ethnic groups.
Mostar
HVO forces attacked the city of Mostar in 1993. They destroyed the city's Mosque and killed multiple Bosniak army prisoners, mainly via savage beatings. Slobodan Praljak, who was the HVO's leading commander, also ordered the destruction of the city's 16th-century Ottoman bridge known as "Stari Most" ("Old Bridge"). The renowned bridge was rebuilt 11 years later.
Image: Reuters/D. Ruvic
Gornji Vakuf
HVO forces pillaged and destroyed several villages in the Gornji Vakuf in early 1993. In many cases, HVO soldiers set fire to homes of Muslim Bosniaks. According to the verdict in The Hague, Jadranko Prlić, Bruno Stojić, Slobodan Praljak, Milivoj Petković and Valentin Čorić helped organize and carry out the military operations in Gornji.
Image: DW/N. Velickovic
Jablanica
The villages of Sovići and Doljani in the scenic area of Jablanica came under heavy Croat shelling in April 1993. After entering the villages, HVO soldiers killed four Bosniak army detainees and abused multiple women and children. In its 2013 verdict, The Hague court determined that Milivoj Petković had also been responsible for blocking international observers from entering Sovići and Doljani.
Image: Tourism Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Prozor
The six generals were also involved in HVO attacks on a dozen villages in Prozor, including Parcani, Podaniš, Lizoperci, Lug, Skrobućani and Tošćanica. Croat forces burned Bosniak homes, destroyed their property and killed multiple men and women. In one instance, they "violently abused" between 400 and 500 Bosniak soldiers in a local secondary school. Some detainees were sexually abused.
Image: DW/N. Velickovic
Čapljina
The Lokve and Višići mosques were destroyed in the Čapljina municipality in the summer of 1993 after HVO soldiers began forcibly evicting Bosniak civilians from the area. During the operation, two women and an elderly disabled man were shot and killed. A few days later, Croat forces executed 12 Bosniak men before burning their bodies outside of the village of Bivolje Brdo.
