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Slobodan Praljak
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Slobodan Praljak
Slobodan Praljak (2013).jpg
Praljak in 2013
Born 2 January 1945
apljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Died 29 November 2017 (aged 72)
The Hague, Netherlands
Allegiance Croatia
Herzeg-Bosnia
Service/branch Croatian Army
Croatian Defence Council
Years of service 19911995
Rank Lieutenant general
Battles/wars
Croatian War of Independence
Bosnian War
CroatBosniak War
Other work Professor, film and theatre director, businessman, writer
Website slobodanpraljak.com
Slobodan Praljak (pronounced [slo?bodan 'pra??ak]; 2 January 1945 29 November
2017) was a Bosnian Croat general and convicted war criminal. Between 1991 and
1995, he served as general in the Croatian Army and the Croatian Defence Council,
an army of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, during the CroatBosniak War.

Praljak was indicted by, and voluntarily surrendered to, the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 2004.[1] In 2013, he was convicted for
war crimes against the Bosnian Muslim population during the CroatBosniak War
alongside five other Bosnian Croat officials.[2][3] He was sentenced to 20 years in
jail.[4] An appeal was heard in early 2017; upon hearing the guilty verdict upheld
in November 2017, Praljak responded that he rejected the verdict of the court. He
then produced a bottle of poison and drank it.[5] He was hospitalized and died a
few hours later.[6][7][8][9]

Before his military career, he was engineer, professor, and television director.

Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 During the war
3 Post war
4 ICTY indictment
5 Death
5.1 Reaction
5.2 Investigation
6 Private life
7 References
8 External links
Background
Slobodan Praljak was born on 2 January 1945 in apljina. His father Mirko worked
for Yugoslav security agency OZNA.[10] He attended high school in iroki Brijeg
with the future Croatian Defense Minister Gojko uak.[11] Praljak had three
university degrees. In 1970, he graduated as an electrical engineer at the Faculty
of Electrical Engineering in Zagreb with a GPA of 4.5/5. In 1971, he graduated from
the Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, majoring in philosophy and
sociology. In 1972, he graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Art. At first,
he worked as a professor and manager of the electronics laboratory at the Nikola
Tesla Vocational High School in Zagreb, then lectured on philosophy and sociology,
[12] and since 1973 was a freelance artist.[13] Praljak was also a theater director
in theaters in Zagreb, Osijek and Mostar. He directed the television series Blesan
i Tulipan [Blesan and Tulipan], television dramas Novela od Stanca and Sargako
more [Sargasso Sea], documentaries Smrt psa (1980) [Death of a Dog], Sandak and
Duhan [Tobacco] (both in 1990), and film Povratak Katarine Koul (1989) [Return of
Katarina Koul].[10][12][14]

During the war

Praljak drew public attention in 1991 when he voluntarily joined the newly formed
Croatian Armed Forces after the outbreak of the Croatian War of Independence. He
formed a unit composed of the Zagreb artists and intellectuals with whom he held
positions in Sunja.[12] Later he went to Bosnia and Herzegovina where he was one of
the commanders in the 1992 Operation Jackal. After the Sarajevo Agreement (1992),
he was made Major General, received a number of responsibilities in the Ministry of
Defense, and became one of the 14 members of the Croatian National Defense Council
and a member of the Croatian State Commission for Relations with United Nations
Protection Force (UNPROFOR). He was the High Representative of the Ministry of
Defense, and since 13 May 1993, representative of the Ministry of Defense in the
Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatian Defence Council (HVO).[12] Praljak
proposed Alija Izetbegovi to unblock Sarajevo but his propositions were rejected.
From 24 July to 8 November 1993, Praljak was the Chief of Staff of the Croatian
Defense Council. In spite of the Croat-Muslim conflict, he sent a truck full of
weapons to surrounded Sarajevo to help Bosniaks.[11] He also allowed the UNHCR's
humanitarian convoy through to Mostar, which was stopped in itluk.[10][15]

Praljak was accused of ordering the destruction of Mostar's Stari Most in November
1993, an act which ICTY ruled had "caused disproportionate damage to the Muslim
civilian population".[16] Hovewer, ICTY agreed that the bridge was a legitimate
military target.[8] During the trial, Praljak denied the accusation because in the
same month when the destruction occurred, he came into conflict with the commander
of the HVO's so-called Punishment Battalion Mladen Naletili Tuta which resulted in
his resignation from the positions of HVO's Chief of Staff, one day before the
destruction of the bridge. He claimed that the bridge was demolished by activation
of the explosive charge set on the left bank of the Neretva, where the Army of
Bosnia and Herzegovina was located.[12][17] In addition to the responsibility and
whether it was a legitimate military target, ICTY also examined whether the earlier
siege by JNA and Bosnian Serb forces contributed to bridges' collapse.[18] During
1993, General Praljak was in charge of the Dretelj camp where Bosniak men were
brutalized, with at least four casualties.[19]

Praljak retired at his own request on 1 December 1995.[13] His actions and thinking
during the war, from the treatment of prisoners to the condemnation of Ustae
insignia, were praised by fellow veterans.[12]

Post war
After the war, Praljak became a businessman.[13] In 1995 he founded the company
Oktavijan which initially produced films, video, and television programs and
published his books, and later engaged in real estate business by managing a
business complex Centar 2000 in Zagreb. Since 2005, the company is managed by his
stepson Nikola Babi Praljak. In 2011 it had around 22 million kunas of revenue.
[20] Praljak was also a co-owner of Liberan, a company that has a share in Ljubuki
Tobacco Factory.[14] In 2008, Croatian Ministry of Culture deemed that his 18 works
about Croatian War of Independence, Bosnian War, and relations between Croatia and
Bosnia and Herzegovina are not books but brochures.[20]

ICTY indictment
Praljak was among six accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), in relation to the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia.[2] On 5
April 2004 he voluntarily surrendered and was transferred to the ICTY.[1] In his
indictment it was alleged that Praljak as a senior military official commanded,
directly and indirectly, the Herceg-Bosna/HVO armed forces which committed mass war
crimes against Bosnian Muslim population in around 30 municipalities in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. In his role as a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Defense, he
was closely involved in all aspects of not only the Herceg-Bosna/HVO military
planning and operations but the actions of the Herceg-Bosna/HVO civilian police
too.[2]

Taken from the UN press release (2004):

nine counts of grave breaches of the Geneva conventions (wilful killing; inhuman
treatment (sexual assault); unlawful deportation of a civilian; unlawful transfer
of a civilian; unlawful confinement of a civilian; inhuman treatment (conditions of
confinement); inhuman treatment; extensive destruction of property, not justified
by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; appropriation of
property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and
wantonly).
nine counts of violations of the laws or customs of war (cruel treatment
(conditions of confinement); cruel treatment; unlawful labour; wanton destruction
of cities, towns or villages, or destruction not justified by military necessity;
destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to religion or
education; plunder of public or private property; unlawful attack on civilians;
unlawful infliction of terror on civilians; cruel treatment), and
eight counts of crimes against humanity (persecutions on political, racial and
religious grounds; murder; rape; deportation; inhumane acts (forcible transfer);
imprisonment; inhumane acts (conditions of confinement); inhumane acts).[21]
The trial began on 26 April 2006. On 29 May 2013 the ICTY sentenced him to 20 years
of imprisonment, and on 28 June 2013, Praljak filed an appeal.[1] On 29 November
2017, the ICTY trial was concluded finding him guilty, and although some parts of
his conviction were overturned, the judge did not reduce the initial sentence of 20
years.[8][22] He was charged with crimes against "humanity, violations of the laws
or customs of war, and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions", including
persecution, murders, expulsions, and imprisonment of Bosniaks, also "extensive
appropriation of property not justified by military necessity" and "plunder of
public or private property through the third category of joint criminal enterprise
liability",[23] on which he failed to act and stop.[24] He was acquitted of some
charges related to the destruction of Stari Most.[3] As he had already served more
than two-thirds of the sentence in jail, he would probably have been released soon.
[3][25]

Death
On 29 November 2017, Praljak died in hospital in The Hague soon after drinking
poison[3] in front of the judges in the courtroom during pronouncement of the
appeal judgement against him.[8][22] Presiding Judge Carmel Agius suspended the
hearings,[9] and ICTY medical staff transported Praljak to nearby HMC Hospital
(nl).[6] The Dutch authorities declared the courtroom a crime scene, and launched
an investigation.[9][6]

Praljak's last words after hearing his conviction:[26][27]

Croatian: Suci, Slobodan Praljak nije ratni zloinac, s prijezirom odbacujem vau
presudu!, lit. 'Judges, Slobodan Praljak is not a war criminal, with disdain I
reject your verdict!'

Subsequently he concluded:[26][27]

Croatian: To je otrov koji sam popio., lit. 'This is poison that I drank.'

Reaction
The former ICTY judge Wolfgang Schomburg commented that "it is a tragedy that
someone in such a situation has taken their own life".[28] The Croatian government
offered condolences to Praljak's family and claimed the ICTY misrepresented its
officials in the 1990s, while Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovi stated the "act during
the announcement of the verdict by the Appeals Chamber, when he took his own life,
speaks the most of deep moral injustice towards the six Croats from Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the Croatian people".[29] Miroslav Tuman stated it was a
"consequence of his moral position not to accept the verdict that has nothing to do
with justice or reality", Dragan ovi stated that he "showed before the whole
world what kind of sacrifice he is ready to make to prove that he is not a war
criminal",[3] the Serbian politician Vojislav eelj commented that although he was
an enemy it was a "heroic move, and for respect" and there should have been more
such strong blows to the tribunal.[30] Almost a thousand Bosnian Croats gathered in
a Mostar square to light candles to pay respect to Praljak.[3]

Martin Bell described him as a "theatrical character" who has "died in a theatrical
way". Writing in The Daily Telegraph, journalist Harry de Quetteville opinion is
that the defiant suicide was "the most dramatic proof possible of a very
uncomfortable reality: many in the Balkans refuse to accept that the horrific
ethnic cleansing of the 1990s was wrong".[31]

Investigation
What poison he used and how he obtained it is still unknown as of November 2017.
[32]

Private life
Praljak was married to Kaua Babi. The couple had no children, but Praljak was
close to his two stepchildren Nikola and Nataa, who took his last name.[12]

References
^ Jump up to: a b c "Slobodan Praljak". Trial International. 6 May 2016. Retrieved
30 November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Prlic et al. Initial Indictment". ICTY. 2 March 2004.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "'I am not a war criminal,' convicted Bosnian Croat cries
as he takes a fatal dose of poison". Los Angeles Times. 29 November 2017. Retrieved
29 November 2017. Ironically, Praljak, who surrendered to the tribunal in April
2004 and had already been jailed for 13 years, could have soon walked free because
those who are convicted are generally released after serving two-thirds of their
sentences.
Jump up ^ Mike Corder (29 May 2013). "UN war crimes tribunal convicts 6 Bosnian
Croats of persecution of Muslims during Bosnian war". News1130.
Jump up ^ "War crimes suspect 'takes poison' in court". BBC. 29 November 2017.
Retrieved 29 November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Statement on passing of Slobodan Praljak". ICTY. 29 November
2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Jump up ^ Alan McGuinness (29 November 2017). "War criminal Slobodan Praljak dies
after taking poison in court". Sky News. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Owen Bowcott (29 November 2017). "Bosnian Croat war criminal
dies after taking poison in UN courtroom". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 November
2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c Stephanie van den Berg; Bart H. Meijer (29 November 2017).
"Bosnian Croat war crimes convict dies after taking 'poison' in U.N. court".
Reuters. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c Ivica Rado (29 November 2017). "Tko je bio Slobodan Praljak?
Slao je oruje Bonjacima u opkoljeno Sarajevo" [Who was Slobodan Praljak? He sent
weapons to Bosnians in the besieged Sarajevo] (in Croatian). Veernji list.
Retrieved 29 November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b "Tko je bio Slobodan Praljak? Slao je oruje Bonjacima u
opkoljeno Sarajevo".
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Tko je bio Slobodan Praljak: Imao je tri diplome,
kontroverzan ratni put, ali i nevjerojatnu obiteljsku priu sa suprugom i velikim
prijateljem.." [Who was Slobodan Praljak: He had three diplomas, a controversial
war trail, and an incredible family story with his wife and great friend...] (in
Croatian). Jutarnji list. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Tko je bio general Praljak? Imao je tri diplome, bio je i
'slobodni umjetnik', a '91. dragovoljno odlazi na ratite; Privatni ivot
obiljeila mu je nevjerojatna pria" [Who was General Praljak? He had three
diplomas, he was also a 'free artist', and '91. he voluntarily goes to the
battlefield; His private life marked an incredible story]. Slobodna Dalmacija (in
Croatian). 29 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b Oriana Ivkovi Novokmet (29 November 2017). "Tko je bio Slobodan
Praljak? Osueni ratni zloinac koji je zaradio milijune nakon rata" [Who was
Slobodan Praljak? A guilty war criminal who has earned millions after the war] (in
Croatian). Index.hr. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
Jump up ^ "Slobodan Praljak's Redacted Final Trial Brief" (PDF). ICTY. 31 March
2011. pp. 4243, 86, 177178.
Jump up ^ "War Criminal Dies After 'Taking Poison' In Hague Courtroom". Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Jump up ^ Gordana Knezevic (29 November 2017). "The Cultured Destroyers of
Culture". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Jump up ^ Helen Walasek, contributions by Richard Carlton, Amra Hadimuhamedovi,
Valery Perry, Tina Wik. Bosnia and the Destruction of Cultural Heritage. Routledge.
p. 315.
Jump up ^ Vulliamy, Ed (29 November 2017). "The day I came face to face with
General Slobodan Praljak in The Hague". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b Kreimir abec (4 July 2012). "Ministarstvo generalu Praljku:
Vae knjige o ratu spadaju u und i pornografiju, platit ete 628.726 kuna poreza!"
(in Croatian). Jutarnji list. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Jump up ^ "Press Release". 6 April 2004. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b Marlise Simons (29 November 2017). "Croatian War Criminal Dies
After Swallowing Poison in Court". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
Jump up ^ "The ICTY renders its final judgement in the Prli et al. appeal case".
ICTY. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Jump up ^ "Praljak: Police investigate Hague trial suicide". BBC. 30 November 2017.
Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Jump up ^ Davor Ivankovi (29 November 2017). "Da nije popio otrov, Praljak bi
uskoro bio na slobodi" [If he did not drank the poison, Praljak would soon be at
liberty] (in Croatian). Veernji list. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b "Na izricanju presude Slobodan Praljak popio otrov i preminuo"
[At the pronouncement of the verdict Slobodan Praljak drank the poison and passed
away] (in Croatian). Croatian Radiotelevision. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 29
November 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b Willa Frej (29 November 2017). "Former Bosnian Croat Official on
Trial For War Crimes Dies After Drinking Poison in Court". HuffPost. Retrieved 29
November 2017.
Jump up ^ Zoran Arbutina (29 November 2017). "ICTY Hague Tribunal ends prosecutions
of Yugoslav war crimes but legacy lingers". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 30 November
2017.
Jump up ^ "PM: Praljak's act speaks of deep moral injustice towards Bosnian
Croats". Government of Croatia. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
Jump up ^ "Junaki in za potovanje! eelj za Espreso komentarie samoubistvo
hrvatskog generala usred Hakog tribunala" [Heroic move for respect! eelj for
Espreso comments suicide of Croatian general in the middle of Hague tribunal].
Espreso.rs. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Jump up ^ de Quetteville, Harry (29 November 2017). "Balkans suicide: the poison is
not just in court, but across the whole region". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30
November 2017.
Jump up ^ "Pojavile se prve pretpostavke o tome koji je otrov Praljak popio, na
ugledni toksikolog 'Zato su toliko ekali da ga odvezu u bolnicu?'" [The first
ideas as to what poison Praljak drank have appeared, our distinguished toxicologist
'Why did they wait so long to take him to the hospital?']. Veernji list (in
Croatian). 29 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
External links
Personal website
Prli et al.: Case information sheet at ICTY
Profile at filmski-programi.hr (in Croatian)
Slobodan Praljak on IMDb
Authority control
WorldCat Identities VIAF: 26590686 LCCN: nb2007007044 ISNI: 0000 0000 4323 8888
GND: 1058660101 NKC: jx20111109012
Categories: 1945 births2017 deaths20th-century criminalsAcademy of Dramatic Art,
University of Zagreb alumniCroats of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted of crimes
against humanityCroatian Defence CouncilCroatian army officersCroatian military
personnel who committed suicideCriminals who committed suicideFaculty of Electrical
Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb alumniFaculty of Humanities and
Social Sciences, University of Zagreb alumniFilmed suicidesPeople convicted by the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaPeople from apljinaPeople
who committed suicide in prison custodySuicides by poisonSuicides in the
Netherlands
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