- On July 17, 1998, at the UN meeting in Rome, the Rome Statute was adopted, on the basis of which the International Criminal Court was established.
- Since July 1, 2002, the ICC has been investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity. One of the most famous cases handled by the organization was the conviction of Croatian leader Slobodan Braljak
- After hearing the verdict on appeal, Braljak became famous after swallowing poison. The Croatian was sentenced to 20 years in prison
- More interesting information can be found on the Onet home page
The Slobodan Praljak case is one of the most famous in the history of the International Criminal Court, which was established exactly 25 years ago based on the Rome Statute adopted on July 17, 1998. 120 countries around the world signed this document. One of them is Russia, which, after 18 years, left at the behest of Vladimir Putin.
The Hague-based ICC has been investigating genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes since 1 July 2002. Braljak was charged with such crimes. According to the ICC, he was involved in massive war crimes against civilians during the 1992-1994 Bosnian-Muslim war. The Croatian leader is innocent and had to defend himself in court without a lawyer.
More text below the video:
From filmmaker to general
Slobodan Braljak is a Croatian engineer, theater and film director, businessman and writer. He had completed three faculties. In 1991, when Croatia, the Union Republic of Yugoslavia, declared its independence, a year before the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia and was promoted to the rank of Major General.
During his military career, he had both famous moments (e.g. the release of a detained convoy with humanitarian aid to Mostar) and controversial ones (among other things, he was accused of destroying the famous old stone bridge over the Neretva in Mostar by troops under his command), as well as the ICC resulting in punishment. The latter included among others: the events in the pastoral settlement of Stubni Do, where a branch of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO) led by Braljak killed 39 Muslim residents. The massacre at Stubny Do is considered “the only war crime directly proven against Braljak,” writes “Rzeczpospolita”.
Slobodan Braljak is one of six Bosnian Croats indicted and convicted by the ICC for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. In 2004, he voluntarily surrendered to the court. The trial began in 2006 and the ICC delivered its verdict in 2013. Braljak was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In the same year, he appealed. Four years later, an appeals court upheld the earlier ruling.
“I reject your judgment with contempt”
“Slobodan Braljak is not a war criminal and I reject your verdict with contempt,” shouted the 72-year-old Croatian shortly after the ICC’s decision was announced. After a moment, he tilted the small vial and swallowed its contents. He said he drank poison. He is still alive and doctors have been called. The next day news of his death spread. The event was followed live by numerous websites in the Balkans, which broadcast live on the Internet since the verdict was read in The Hague. The footage of Braljak committing suicide is still on the internet today.
The courtroom where Braljak consumed the lethal substance was found to be the scene of the crime, but a subsequent internal investigation found no violations by the tribunal. There are no procedural errors. Interestingly – Braljak took his own life when he had already served part of his sentence.
“Rzeczpospolita” reported that during the trial, he should behave domineeringly and harshly. The court had to admonish him several times. He never pleaded guilty. So far, it has not been explained how he got such a deadly poison.
As ICC judge Hasan Bubakar Jallow told dw.com in 2018, the pill size of cyanide ranges from 200 to 300 milligrams. In powder and solution form, it is difficult to detect even during a physical search. Even special x-ray machines used for scanning cannot detect it.
Source: rp.pl, dw.com, polsatnews.pl, pl.wikipedia.org
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