War Criminal Drinks 'Poison,' Sends Court Into Chaos

Croatian state TV has reported that war criminal Slobodan Praljak, who stunned a UN war crimes tribunal Wednesday by drinking what he claimed was poison during proceedings, has died, per the AP. 

The BBC and Guardian had earlier reported that the 72-year-old Bosnian Croat—an ex-military commander convicted four years ago of persecuting and killing Muslims during the Bosnian war in the mid-'90s—disrupted his appeals hearing after he heard his 20-year sentence in prison would be upheld. 

"I am not a war criminal," he reportedly yelled upon hearing the news, just after he got up from his seat and appeared to drink something from a tiny glass or bottle. His attorney then cried out: "My client says he has taken poison."

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