HIR | Murder at the Hague? The case of Slavko Dokmanovic

The Hague Tribunal’s Report also says the following:

8. Finally, he [Slavko Dokmanovic] managed to hang himself by fastening on to the top door hinge of his cell’s wardrobe the end of a second tie that he had firmly attached around his neck; Mr. Dokmanovic was found dead shortly after midnight...

Did you notice? Now the Tribunal is saying that Dokmanovic hanged himself by fastening a tie "to the top door hinge of his cell’s wardrobe."

He did?

What happened to the cell door?

I checked in Lexis-Nexis, the media search engine. I found that, shortly after Dokmanovic died, fourteen (14) articles in major newspapers reported that he had hanged himself on the hinge to his cell door. Twenty (20) wire service reports said the same thing.[12]

On the other hand, I could not find a single newspaper that reported Dokmanovic hanging himself on the door to his wardrobe. As for the wire services, a couple reported the wardrobe version, but only after the tribunal had made Rodrigues' report public on July 21st, 1998.[13]

And The Washington Post took the cell door story even further, explaining how it was possible for Dokmanovic to get his tie, or whatever he used to supposedly hang himself, around the cell door hinge:

“The suspect had been able to get the locked cell door open, and in the darkness hanged himself with an unspecified kind of cord suspended from a door hinge, the sources said.” [my emphasis]

This is bizarre. Where did all those newspapers and wire services get the 'information' that Dokmanovic hanged himself on his cell door? Obviously from 'sources' at The Hague, such as Christian Chartier.

But why would Christian Chartier and others say Dokmanovic hanged himself from his cell door? Obviously because a) they were lying or b) they thought it was true.

But under what circumstances could Chartier and the others believe it was true? Only if the guards had actually found Dokmanovic hanging from his cell door.

But if the guards did find Dokmanovic hanging from his cell door, then why does Rodrigues' report say he was found hanging from his wardrobe? How is it possible that, more than a month after the event, the door on which the deceased supposedly hanged himself is a different door?

Clearly the Tribunal was either lying about the first story or lying about the second story -- or lying about both.

I'll tell you what I think. I think they said Dokmanovic was found hanging from his cell door because they thought it sounded good. Then they realized that for him to kill himself that way, he would have had to open the cell door. So they said he opened the cell door.

But they ended up feeling uncomfortable with the line that Dokmanovic opened his cell door because, after all, this was a “heavily-monitored high-security prison.”[14]

Wouldn't somebody notice, sooner or later, that Dokmanovic's supposed feat was preposterous? So they erased the cell door and substituted the wardrobe door, and now the hanging was done inside the cell -- nice and neat.

Did Dokmanovic's cell even have a wardrobe? Who knows? Does it really matter?

[Back to The Hague Tribunal’s Report]

9. All of the Rules of the Detention Unit concerning Security were observed. No negligent behavior was identified;

[End Quote]

Ah...! All the rules were observed. Isn't that reassuring?

All I can say is: how fortunate for the Tribunal that it investigates itself...

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Footnotes and Further Reading
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