Sefer Halilović Sefer Halilović ( born 6 January 1952 ) is a former general and commanding officer of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992 – 95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina . In 2001 , he was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and acquitted in 2005 . Today he is a prominent politician in Bosnia and Herzegovina . Pre - war life . Halilović was born in Taševo , a hamlet in the Prijepolje municipality in the Sandžak geographical region of Serbia , then Yugoslavia . He attended the military academy in Belgrade in 1971 for three years and in 1975 he attended the military school in Zadar where he became an Officer in the Yugoslav People ' s Army ( JNA ) . From 1980 until the war he served in Vinkovci as Army security officer . On 31 August 1990 he went to Belgrade and attended a two - year course at the school for commanders . When he left the People ' s Army in September 1991 he was a professional military officer and held the rank of Major . He returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina , created the Patriotic League and planned the defense of the country . War years . On 25 May 1992 he was appointed by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( RBiH ) as Commander of the Territorial Defence ( TO ) Staff of the RBiH , replacing Hasan Efendić , becoming the most senior Military Commander of the armed forces of the RBiH . From his appointment in May to early July , while the TO evolved into an Army , Halilović also acted as a member of the War Presidency . After July 1992 , he functioned as the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina . On 18 August 1992 , the Presidency formed five corps of the ABiH with Halilović as Chief of the Supreme Command Staff / Chief of the Main Staff . On 8 June 1993 , a new position was created , Commander of the Supreme Command Staff . Rasim Delić filled this post . Between 18 July 1993 to 1 November 1993 , he held the post of Deputy Commander of the Supreme Command Staff of the ARBiH as well as Chief of the Supreme Command Staff . After a meeting in Zenica on 20 – 21 August 1993 , Rasim Delić appointed him Head of an Inspection Team . At that same meeting he urged his fellow officers to prioritize the disciplining of BH soldiers . He was quoted as saying ; " When are we going to start shooting people for not following orders " ? Assassination attempt . During the war Halilović ran afoul of the political leaders of Bosnia who in turn were likely responsible for the failed attempt on Halilović ' s life . On 7 July 1993 at 14 : 10h Halilović ' s flat was bombed using a remote detonated explosive device . While Halilović , his son and daughter were not killed , his wife Mediha and her brother Edin Rondić died . Rondić appeared on the balcony in a military uniform at the same time that Halilović came home for lunch with his family . The assassins likely mistook Rondić for Halilović and detonated the device . The assassin was a member of the State Security Service or SDB - s secret group for liquidation and their commander was Nedzad Ugljen , also the director of SDB . War crimes indictment . Before his indictment Halilović was a government minister in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the leader of his own political party , the Bosnian - Herzegovinian Patriotic Party - Sefer Halilović and was known for his vocal criticism of Bosnian president Alija Izetbegović . He was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on 30 July 2001 . He voluntarily surrendered on 25 September 2001 and plead not guilty two days later . Halilović was on a provisional release from 13 December 2001 until the beginning of the trial and from 5 September 2005 until 14 November 2005 . Charge . Halilović was indicted on the basis of superior criminal responsibility ( Article 7 ( 3 ) of the Statute of the Tribunal ) and charged with one count of violation of the laws and customs of war ( Article 3 – murder ) . The massacre he was accused of being responsible for took place in villages of Grabovica and Uzdol in September 1993 . The ICTY prosecutors claimed that he was leader of Operation Neretva ' 93 which was conducted by the ARBiH in the area . Trial . The trial against Sefer Halilović began on 31 January 2005 . The Prosecution completed its case on 2 June . There were 39 prosecution witnesses and two witness statements . The Trial Chamber admitted 287 exhibits tendered into evidence by the prosecution . The defence case commenced on June 27 and lasted until 14 July 2005 . There were three defence witnesses and twelve witness statements . The parties made their closing arguments on 30 and 31 August 2005 . The Trial Chamber admitted 207 exhibits tendered into evidence by the defence . Halilović ' s defence claimed at the time of the murders that he had been removed from command time and no longer a commander with the relevant responsibility , but a notional inspector without proper authority . Sefer ' s lawyer , Faruk Balijagić , claims that Rasim Delić , along with Fikret Muslimović , and Bakir Alispahić ordered Sefer ' s failed assassination which was attempted by two members of the secret state security group known as " Seve " , and their commander Nedzad Ugljen , also the director of the state security service or SDB . While Sefer was not killed , his wife Mediha and her brother Edin Rondić were murdered . Faruk further alleges that Alija Izetbegović , the former president of Bosnia - Herezegovina and Delić ' s boss , attempted to discredit Halilović by framing him for the Neretva 93 massacre through mostly false documents provided by the security service bosses and directors : Munir Alibabić ( SBD boss ) , Fikret Muslimović ( SVB boss ) , Nedžad Ugljen ( commander of " Seve " and director of SDB ) , Jusuf Jasarević ( SVB boss ) , Enver Mujezinović ( SDB in Sarajevo boss ) and Bakir Alispahić ( minister of MUP ) . Faruk tried to prove that the secret service agents bribed numerous witnesses for false account of what actually took place and that Halilović is simply a scapegoat . Halilović ' s recently published book " Cunning Strategy " details his side of the story . Verdict and appeals . On 16 November 2005 , Halilović was acquitted on all charges and released . The Court found that , while murders considered war crimes did occur at those places , Halilović did not have command authority , being only an inspector , and that he cannot be considered responsible for them . The prosecution appealed the verdict . On 16 October 2007 the appeals chamber ruled against the prosecution appeal and confirmed the acquittal verdict rendered almost two years earlier by the trial chamber . Other . In 1996 Halilović founded his own political party the Bosnian - Herzegovinian Patriotic Party - Sefer Halilović . In 1997 Halilović published his memoir " Lukava Strategija " ( " Cunning Strategy " ) . He served as the Minister of Refugees and Displaced Persons in the government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1998 and 2001 . In 2005 Halilović ' s son , Semir , published a book " Državna Tajna " which described some of the events which shaped wartime Bosnia . In April 2006 Semir Halilović was accosted and threatened with death by one of the people whom the book cast in a bad light , Ramiz Delalić ( now deceased ) , who was also a prosecution witness during his father ' s trial . On 1 October 2006 Sefer Halilović was elected to a four year term in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina . He is reportedly fluent in Russian .