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The trial of Ivica Marijacic and Markica Rebic, both charged with contempt of the Tribunal, will commence on Tuesday, 17 January 2006 in Courtroom III.
Ivica Marijacic and Markica Rebic were indicted on 10 February 2005 for revealing the following information in relation to a protected witness in the case against former Croatian General Tihomir Blaškic: the protected witness' identity and statement, and the fact that the witness testified in non-public proceedings before the Tribunal. Markica Rebic is also charged with disclosing
the transcript of the protected witness' testimony. At the time relevant to the indictment, Ivica Marijacic was a journalist and editor-in-chief of the Zagreb-based weekly publication Hrvatski List and Markica Rebic was the former head of the Security Information Service (“SIS”) of the Republic of Croatia.
According to the indictment, a protected witness gave investigators of the Tribunal's Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) a statement on 1 and 2 August 1997. On 12 December 1997, the Trial Chamber in the Blaškic case ordered the Prosecution in closed session to disclose a redacted copy of the statement to the defence. The protected witness testified in the Blaškic case in
closed session on 16 December 1997.
The indictment states that on 18 November 2004, Hrvatski List published an article in which it revealed the protected witness' identity, the statement and the fact that the witness had testified in non-public proceedings before the Tribunal. The article's author was identified as Ivica Marijacic and it included an interview with Markica Rebic.
The article revealed that Markica Rebic provided Ivica Marijacic with the protected witness' identity, copies of the statement the witness gave to the OTP, and the transcript of the testimony the witness gave before the Trial Chamber in closed session court proceedings.
The indictment also alleges that, according to the article, both Ivica Marijacic and Markica Rebic were aware that disclosing the protected witness' identity and protected testimony violated the Trial Chamber's orders.
It is further alleged that, in the same issue of Hrvatski List, Markica Rebic stated that he had provided the protected witness' statements to the editorial office of Hrvatski List, and was aware of their protected status and the possible consequences of making them public.
At their initial appearance on 14 June 2005, both accused pleaded not guilty to the charge of contempt of the Tribunal. If convicted, the accused could face a possible sentence of up to seven years imprisonment or a fine of up to 100,000 Euros, or both.
The Tribunal has held contempt proceedings against 18 people, including accused, defence counsel, witnesses, journalists and others for charges including intimidating witnesses, refusing to answer questions in court, leaking confidential court documents, and breaching protective measures.
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The full text of the indictment can be found on the ICTY website
at the following address:
http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/bla-con_3ai051014.pdf.
Courtroom proceedings can be followed on the Tribunal's website.
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