18 October 2005

Alert

Journalist released from prison; pleads not guilty at UN tribunal


Incident details

Josip Jovic

editor(s)

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 14 October 2005 CPJ press release:

CROATIA: Journalist released from prison; pleads not guilty at UN tribunal

New York, October 14, 2005-Croatian authorities released Josip Jovic from prison on Thursday after he agreed to respond to contempt charges at the Hague-based United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, according to local and international press reports.

Jovic, former editor-in-chief of the Split daily Slobodna Dalmacija, traveled to Holland today and pleaded not guilty to defying Tribunal gag orders against publishing the identity and testimony of a protected witness. He was allowed to return to Croatia after the hearing.

Croatian police in the southern city of Split arrested Jovic on October 6 after he ignored a Tribunal summons to enter a plea at a September hearing. Jovic initially challenged his extradition to the Tribunal but agreed this week to travel to Holland to avoid remaining in prison during a lengthy legal process, The Associated Press reported.

The case stems from indictments issued by the Tribunal in April and September against five journalists and a former intelligence officer for identifying a witness who testified against indicted war criminal Tihomir Blaskic in 1997. The Tribunal had issued a number of gag orders barring news organizations from identifying the witness or publishing the witness' testimony.

The other four journalists also pleaded not guilty, saying the material they published was of public interest and the witness' identity had already been made public. The journalists face up to seven years in prison and 100,000 euros (US$121,000) in fines if found guilty.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information on Croatia, visit http://www.cpj.org



Source:

Committee to Protect Journalists
330 7th Ave., 11th Floor
New York, NY 10001
USA
info (@) cpj.org
Phone: +1 212 465 1004
Fax: +1 212 465 9568
 

Stay on top of free expression news.

Sign up to receive the weekly IFEX Communiqué.


More on this case

RSF relieved by Hague court decision not to prosecute three journalists 19 June 2006 Journalist arrested; facing extradition to UN war crimes tribunal 7 October 2005

Croatia

IPI calls for professionalisation of public broadcaster 20 January 2012 IPI condemns new death threats against journalist 14 December 2011 IPI demands public prosecutor investigate top military officials over alleged death threats to journalist 21 July 2011 Four suspects in brutal attack on "Jutarnji List" journalist Dusan Miljus captured 30 December 2010 Concerns grow about anonymous death threats to newspaper staff 8 October 2010 See all alerts: Croatia


 
The International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) is a global network of 95 organisations working to defend and promote the right to free expression.
Permission is granted for material on this website to be reproduced or republished in whole or in part provided the source member and/or IFEX is cited with a link to the original item.