Croatia holds commemoration for war criminal

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia

Croatia held a commemoration ceremony for convicted war criminal Slobodan Praljak, who committed suicide in the Hague court after being convicted earlier this month.

Praljak was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Praljak then, stood up, rejected the verdict, and drank poison from a small bottle. Later on the UN court confirmed Praljak died in hospital.

Miroslav Tudjman, the son of former Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, addressed the audience at the commemoration, saying "in no way can the loss of a human like Slobodan be compensated".

"Slobodan Praljak did not want to live a single minute as a war criminal, because he was not one. His final act in the Hague courtroom was not a theatrical gesture, nor an escape from responsibility for his actions, nor a gesture of cowardice in fear of condemnation, nor a move by the desperate man who escapes from depression in the depression," Tudjman said.

After the commemoration, a holy Mass was celebrated at a Zagreb church for 72-year-old Praljak.

The funeral ceremony for Praljak had been held on Thursday at Zagreb's main Mirogoj crematorium in the presence of close family and friends.

It was held privately, as Praljak requested from his family in a sealed letter.

Praljak was one of six former Bosnian Croat political and military leaders of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia which existed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

The group was appealing a string of war crimes verdicts.

Praljak had launched an appeal over a 2013 verdict against wartime Croatian figures sentenced to a total of 111 years in prison for crimes committed in the Bosnian conflict.

There was no change in the sentences given to the Croat military and political leaders from 2013. The six prosecuted men were found guilty of crimes against humanity committed in the Bosnian war and violations of the laws of war and the Geneva Convention.

The group was initially convicted of demolishing of the Old Bridge in Mostar, but in Wednesday's ruling they were not held responsible.