BELGRADE, Yugoslavia – A former Serbian police chief, indicted for war crimes, shot himself in the head in front of the downtown federal parliament building Thursday hours after parliament adopted a law that allows arrests and extraditions to a U.N. tribunal.
Hospital officials said Vlajko Stojiljkovic, who headed the police during the reign of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, was undergoing medical treatment.
A police officer at the scene in front of the parliament said Stojiljkovic walked out of the parliament building shortly after 7 p.m., appeared to hesitate a few minutes and then calmly pulled out a pistol and shot himself.
His body was seen lying in a pool of blood in front of a large wooden door.
The shooting came after the Yugoslav Parliament passed a law that removes legal obstacles for the arrest and extradition of top Milosevic associates and other war crimes suspects to the U.N. tribunal.
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