Former Bosnian army chief cleared of war crimes charges News
Former Bosnian army chief cleared of war crimes charges

[JURIST] Former Bosnian Army commander Sefer Halilovic [ICTY case backgrounder] was acquitted Wednesday by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] on war crimes charges [indictment]. The ICTY ruled that court prosecutors did not prove that Halilovic, the most senior Bosnian Muslim commander to face trial at the tribunal, was in charge of troops that killed 62 Croat civilians in 1993 during an operation by Muslim forces to retake territory in an effort to end the blockade of the city of Mostar. The ICTY ordered that Halilovic be released from custody immediately. Read the tribunal's 309-page judgment [PDF text] and press release. BBC News has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Dreyfus convicted of treason

On December 22, 1894, Jewish French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial trial that prompted worldwide allegations of anti-Semitism. Dreyfus was later cleared. Learn more about the case of Alfred Dreyfus and read an English translation of the famous public letter J'Accuse...! by novelist and Dreyfus partisan Emile Zola.

US passed Embargo Act, banning foreign trade

On December 22, 1807, the Embargo Act was passed at the urging of US President Thomas Jefferson. The act barred trade with any foreign nations in an effort to avoid American entry into the Napoleonic Wars of Europe. However, the act proved unenforceable and was replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act, which barred trade with France and Great Britain. Learn more about the Embargo Act of 1807 from Monticello.org