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.[1] 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.