\n Bosnian Croat war criminal Slobodan Praljak, who died Wednesday after apparently drinking poison in a dramatic courtroom scene, worked in film and theatre before becoming a military commander in the 1990s conflict.\n<\/p>\n
\n The 72-year-old died in hospital in The Hague after swigging from a small brown bottle in court in full view of television cameras just after UN judges had upheld his 20-year sentence.\n<\/p>\n
\n Tall with a white beard, Praljak was one of six Bosnian Croats appealing against their convictions for war crimes committed during the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia, and Wednesday's ruling was the tribunal's final judgement.\n<\/p>\n
\n The appeal judges said all six men, found guilty of participating in a scheme to remove Bosnian Muslims, \"remained convicted of numerous and very serious crimes\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Praljak was specifically charged with ordering the destruction of Mostar's iconic Ottoman-era bridge in November 1993, which judges in the first trial had said \"caused disproportionate damage to the Muslim civilian population\".\n<\/p>\n
\n \"It's just an old bridge,\" Praljak said at the time, showing scant regard for the emotional effect that the landmark's loss had on Bosnians of all ethnic backgrounds.\n<\/p>\n
\n The judges had on Wednesday actually allowed part of Praljak's appeal, saying the bridge had been a legitimate military target during the conflict, although they did not reduce his sentence.\n<\/p>\n
\n After the conflict, in which some 100,000 people were killed, the bridge over the Neretva river was rebuilt and reopened as a symbol of reconciliation in 2004 -- although Mostar today remains sharply divided along ethnic lines.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Rising up the ranks -\n<\/p>\n
\n Praljak was born in the southern Bosnian town of Capljina and later studied in the Croatian capital Zagreb, graduating with degrees in electrical engineering, sociology and drama.\n<\/p>\n
\n He went on to work as a theatre director and TV producer. He directed the 1989 film \"The Return of Katarina Kozul\" before joining the Croatian army to battle rebel Serbs during Croatia's 1991-1995 war.\n<\/p>\n
\n His lack of military experience did not hinder his rise through the ranks and he quickly became a general assisting the Croatian defence minister.\n<\/p>\n
\n From March 1992 to July 1993, Praljak served as a mediator between the nationalist Croatian regime and the Bosnian Croat leadership, playing an important role in supplying weapons to Bosnian Croat forces.\n<\/p>\n
\n Although Bosnia's Catholic Croats and Bosniak Muslims initially fought together against Serbs in the conflict, they turned on each other in 1993 for 11 months.\n<\/p>\n
\n Bosnian Croats formed a breakaway statelet, the \"republic\" of Herceg-Bosna, which they eventually hoped to merge with Croatia.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Verdict rejected -\n<\/p>\n
\n Praljak, who is married with two step-children, went into business after the war, with his assets including a hotel, office blocks and a restaurant in Zagreb, according to Croatian media.\n<\/p>\n
\n He turned himself in to the court in 2004 and pleaded not guilty to the charges. While in detention, he wrote numerous books analysing the 1990s conflicts.\n<\/p>\n
\n Seconds after his sentence was upheld on Wednesday, he shouted angrily: \"Praljak is not a criminal. I reject your verdict.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n He then drank from the bottle and proceedings were quickly suspended as Praljak's lawyer called out: \"My client says he has taken poison.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Curtains were brought down on the chaos in the courtroom.\n<\/p>\n
\n Speaking to AFP, Croatian political analyst Zarko Puhovski said Praljak's death would overshadow the verdicts and he would become a new \"Croatian saint\".<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bosnian Croat war criminal Slobodan Praljak, who died Wednesday after apparently drinking poison in a dramatic courtroom scene, worked in film and theatre before becoming a military commander in the 1990s conflict. The 72-year-old died in hospital in The Hague after swigging from a small brown bottle in court in full view of television cameras […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-35530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n