Josip Jovic Contempt Case Judgement on 30 August 2006

The judgement in the Josip Jović contempt of court case will be delivered on 30 August 2006 at 9:00 in Courtroom I.



Jović, a former editor of the Croatian daily newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija, is accused of disclosing the identity and testimony of a witness that judges had ordered be protected from the public, as well as violating a court order that specifically instructed him to desist from further publication of the testimony of the witness. Specifically, the prosecution alleges that between 27
November and 29 December 2000 he published the identity of the witness, as well as publishing extracts of the testimony of the witness even after the court ordered him on 1 December 2000 from doing so.

In October 2005, Jović was arrested by Croatian authorities and transferred to the Tribunal after he failed to respond to a court order requiring him to travel to The Hague to enter a plea to the charge against him. He entered a “not guilty” plea on 14 October 2005 and was released.

The trial was initially scheduled for 3 July 2006. The accused did not appear in court and the trial was therefore postponed and held on 11 July 2006. The prosecution submitted evidence and called no witnesses. The defence examined one witness, the accused himself.

*****

Full text of the indictment can be found at:

http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/bla-con_1aiind060614.pdf

Courtroom proceedings can be followed on the Tribunal's website www.un.org/icty