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The International War Crimes Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia acquitted Wednesday in The Hague former commander of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 53-year-old Sefer Halilovic (right), of charges of responsibility for murders of Croat civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993. (17-NOV-05)

One of the most famous personalities of modern American history, a racial equality activist, Rosa Parks, has died at the age of 92. Almost fifty years ago, her act of civil disobedience had enthused the forces of perhaps the biggest social change of the 20th century. (27-OCT-2005)

After the possibility that Ivica Rajic, also know as Viktor Andric, (left) been transferred from the ICTY to Sarajevo, he proposed Plea Agreement between with the Prosecutor, and at the hearing on Wednesday 26 October 2005, he entered a guilty plea to the four counts listed in the amended indictment. In the Plea Agreement, Ivica Rajic and the Prosecution agreed to recommend a single combined sentence in the range of 12 to 15 years’ imprisonment. (26-OCT-05)

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina organized a series of three roundtables and the Conference on the common topic of „What does Bosnia and Herzegovina need to achieve in the field of human rights in order to satisfy the European Union criteria?“. The roundtables were held in Bihac on June 2, Livno on June 16 and Trebinje on June 30, and the Conference was held in Sarajevo on October 4 and 5. (07-OCT-05)
 

Radovan Stankovic (right) was transferred from the ICTY to Sarajevo on September 29, to be tried by the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Stankovic is charged with four counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of violations of the laws or customs of war. He is indicted in connection with crimes committed in 1992-93 after the fall of the Bosnian town of Foca. He is the first ICTY indictee to be transferred to a state in the former Yugoslavia for trial. (02-OCT-05)
 

The Assembly of the city of Sarajevo, at its session held on 29 September 2005, gave Mrs. Natasa Kandic, the executive director of the Humanitarian Law Center, an honorary citizen of the city of Sarajevo award! (30-SEP-05)

On 7 September, the Human Rights House Network, in cooperation with OSCE, International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Geneva, and the Swedish Helsinki Committee organized a conference in the Azeri capital of Baku. The conference focused on the human rights situation in the Republic of Azerbaijan, especially in the build-up to the Parliamentary elections in November. (26-SEP-05)
 

On 21 September 2005, Trial Chamber III granted the Prosecution’s motion to join six cases involving nine of the highest-ranking officers of the Bosnian Serb Army. The charges against the accused relate to the forced removal of the Bosnian Muslim population from the Srebrenica and Zepa enclaves in Eastern Bosnia. It said the trial would avoid duplication, ensure consistency and lessen the hardship for witnesses. One of the nine suspects, Zdravko Tolimir, is still on the run, but the other eight are in custody. No trial date was announced. (23-SEP-05)

Human rights defenders in Serbia including Sonja Biserko, the chairwoman of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia are being subjected to more physical violence, threats, and hate speech in the media than ever before, according to the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) in Vienna, which counts the Helsinki Committee among its 44 affiliates throughout the OSCE region. (22-SEP-05)