Case No. IT-95-14-R77.3

BEFORE A JUDGE OF THE TRIBUNAL

Duty Judge:
Judge Alphons Orie

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Decision of:
26 April 2005

PROSECUTOR

v.

STJEPAN SESELJ
DOMAGOJ MARGETIC

_________________________________

DECISION ON REVIEW OF INDICTMENT

_________________________________

Office of the Prosecutor:

David Akerson
Jason Dominguez

 

I, Judge Alphons Orie, Judge of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 ("Tribunal");

BEING SEIZED of:

NOTING that I was designated reviewing judge by the President pursuant to Rule 47 of the Rules Procedure and Evidence ("Rules") on 29 March 2005;

CONSIDERING that Article 19 of the Statute of the International Tribunal ("Statute") requires a Judge to whom an indictment has been transmitted to review it, and "if satisfied that a prima facie case has been established by the Prosecutor", to confirm the indictment;

CONSIDERING that Rule 47 of the Rules requires a Judge to examine each of the counts in the indictment and any supporting material the Prosecutor may provide to determine through application of the standard in Article 19 of the Statute whether a case exists against the suspect;

NOTING that, in the Indictment, Stjepan Seselj is charged, in his capacity of publisher of the Zagreb-based weekly newspaper Hrvatsko Slovo, with one count of contempt of the Tribunal punishable under the Tribunal’s inherent powers and Rule 77(A)(ii) of the Rules;

CONSIDERING that, on the basis of the material submitted by the Prosecutor, a prima facie case against Stjepan Seselj, in respect of the counts with which he is charged in the Indictment, has been established;

NOTING that, in the Indictment, Domagoj Margetic is charged, in his capacity of editor of the Zagreb-based weekly newspaper Hrvatsko Slovo and of editor-in-chief of Novo Hrvastko Slovo, with two counts of contempt of the Tribunal punishable under the Tribunal’s inherent powers and Rule 77(A)(ii) of the Rules;

CONSIDERING that, on the basis of the material submitted by the Prosecutor, a prima facie case against Domagoj Margetic in respect of the counts with which he is charged in the Indictment, has been established;

CONSIDERING that, in light of the allegations of contempt contained in the Indictment, the Prosecution also requests that there be no public disclosure of the supporting material until further order of the Tribunal;

CONSIDERING that it would be more appropriate for the Chamber which will be appointed to hear this case to issue the requested summonses to Stjepan Seselj and Domagoj Margetic;

PURSUANT TO Articles 19 and 21(4)(a) of the Statute and Rules 77(E), 47, 53(C), 53bis and 54 of the Rules,

HEREBY CONFIRM the Indictment in its entirety

ORDER the lifting of the confidentiality of the Indictment

ORDER the Prosecutor to inform the Registrar in writing within seven days about the known whereabouts of Stjepan Seselj and Domagoj Margetic

REQUEST the Registrar to take all necessary steps to serve the Indictment and this decision on Stjepan Seselj and Domagoj Margetic

ORDER that the supporting material remain under seal until further order of the Tribunal.

 

Done in English and French, the English text being authoritative.

Dated this 26th day of April 2005
At The Hague
The Netherlands

__________________________
Judge Aphons Orie

[Seal of the Tribunal]