Slobodan Praljak, a former Bosnian Croat military commander, ended his life in a dramatic and public manner.
The 72-year-old served in the Croatian Army and the Croatian Defence Council, an army of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, between 1992 and 1995.
On November 29, 2017, during an appeal hearing at a United Nations courtroom, Praljak was faced with the confirmation of his 20-year prison sentence for crimes against humanity.
The commander was one of six former Bosnian Croat military and political leaders appealing a 2013 conviction for murdering, displacing, and persecuting Bosnian Muslims during the Bosnian war in the 1990s.
The suspects were appearing in court for the final appeals judgment to be delivered by the Yugoslav Tribunal.
Praljak was specifically charged with ordering the destruction of Mostar’s 16th-century bridge in November 1993.
After a judge confirmed the 20-year sentence, Praljak defiantly stood up and delivered his haunting final words: "Slobodan Praljak is not a war criminal. I am rejecting the court ruling," per BBC News.
These words would be his last public declaration as he raised his hand to his mouth, tipped his head back, and swallowed potassium cyanide from a small bottle, leading to his subsequent death in a Dutch hospital two hours later.
The proceedings were live-streamed from the court's website, allowing people worldwide to witness this harrowing event in real time.
The question of how the Bosnian Croat commander managed to smuggle the lethal substance into the highly secured UN courtroom remains unanswered.
Dutch prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into his death and disclosed that they found no criminal offenses committed in his preparation to end his life, according to the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service website.
In the aftermath, officials discovered a handwritten farewell letter left in Praljak's apartment in Zagreb, per Daily Mail.
Written two years before his tragic death, the letter included his final request which was having ashes scattered over a cemetery in Zagreb, Croatia.
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