The president of HHO and former political dissident Ivan Zvonimir Čičak died

The president of the Croatian Helsinki Committee (HHO) and former political dissident Ivan Zvonimir Čičak died at the age of 77 in Zagreb, his family confirmed.

According to Croatian media, Čičak died on Wednesday in Zagreb's Rebro Hospital after long-term health problems.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković sent his condolences to the family today, in which he pointed out that Čičak participated in all important periods of contemporary Croatian history.

Čičak is known to the public for his political and activist activities.

As a student, during the Croatian Spring, he advocated for democracy and a more equal position of Croatia within the then Yugoslavia. He was sentenced to several years in prison.

After the political changes of the 1990s, Čičak returned to the public scene and became involved in the work of HHO, an organization founded to monitor and promote human rights.

Hrvatski Jutarnji list points out that although Čičak was a fierce Croatian nationalist and opponent of Yugoslavia, at the same time he was a harsh critic of the first president of Croatia and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Franjo Tuđman, whom he accused of authoritarianism and violation of human rights, primarily of Serbian citizens.

Jutarnji list reminds us that HHO was the first institution to report in detail on the liquidations of civilians and the burning of thousands of buildings after the military-police operation Oluja in 1995. Because of this, Čičak and other associates of HHO came under attack from the right-wing.