JOSIP JOVIC

and the question of free speech,
freedom of thought,
and free media
in Europe

J. Jovic, Croatian newspaperman,
arrested in October 2005

 

UN Attempts to Silence Journalists Falters

By Brian Gallagher 26 June 2006

There has been high drama at the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) regarding its efforts to prosecute Croatian journalists. The contempt charges are for supposedly revealing the identity of a protected witness, Stipe Mesic, now President of Croatia. Charges have been dropped against 3 of the 4 journalists concerned and Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has faced public criticism from a judge on the matter. Most importantly, the charges against Josip Jovic, the remaining journalist being charged have no validity given that the Tribunal allowed others to publish the identity of President Mesic before he did.

Josip Jovic is charged with publishing in 2000 President Mesic's identity and parts of his testimony in the ICTY Blaskic trial, contradicting an order made on 6 June 1997. Bizarrely, the UN prosecutors only bothered to charge him some 5 years later.

In the 10 March 2006 judgement of a previous contempt trial, that of Ivica Marijacic and Markica Rebic, the judges, in discussing what constitutes contempt in relation to disclosure information stated that "The word disclosure is here to be understood in its literal sense, being the revelation of something that was previously confidential." - para 17.

Was the information Jovic disclosed "previously confidential"? No, it was not.

The very order of 6 June 1997 which Jovic supposedly breached was - ludicrously - published on the internet by the ICTY itself. The document named Stipe Mesic as a witness in the Blaskic trial. The ICTY itself therefore revealed to the whole world the identity of the witness. And left it there ever since. That information was no longer confidential. Therefore, in revealing Mesic's identity, Jovic committed no contempt of court .

As a side note, it was worth mentioning that the order of 6 June 1997 arose because some Croatian media had already revealed details about Mesic's involvement in the Blaskic trial.

Furthermore, other media had reported on Mesic's identity and testimony prior to Jovic's publishing the information, and were not sanctioned for it. Some of the more interesting examples follow.

After the 6 June 1997 decision, the London based Institute of War and Peace Reporting promptly revealed Mesic's name in its June 9-14 June 1997 edition of Tribunal Update; it remained on its website for all to see. See it here: http://www.iwpr.net/?p=tri&s=f&o=180553&apc_state=henitri1997

The IWPR named Mesic again in its Tribunal Update of 7-11 February 2000. See it here:

http://www.iwpr.net/?p=tri&s=f&o=166755&apc_state=henitri2000

The article discusses Mesic being elected as Croatian President, quoting Deputy Prosecutor Graham Blewitt at a press conference, stating that:

"Mesic testified as a prosecution witness in May 1998 during the trial of Blaskic and Dokmanovic. At that time Blewitt said, "he indicated he was prepared to do everything he could to assist our work, because he believed it was essential in bringing long-term peace to the region.""

The report states that Blewitt was speaking at a news conference at the Hague (home of the ICTY). On the face of it, it seems as if Blewitt was himself mentioning Mesic's appearance at the Blaskic trial to journalists. Josip Jovic and his lawyer would do well to raise this at the trial, to demand clarification of Blewitt's comments - it may be critical to the verdict.

Quite clearly, the ICTY were unconcerned about the disclosure of Mesic's identity, seemingly allowing IWPR - who are well known to the ICTY - to keep the information on its website. It is also worth pointing out that Andras Riedlmayer, an expert witness for the UN prosecutors posted that report on the JUSTWATCH website. See it here:

http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0002&L=justwatch-l&D=1&O=D&F=&S=&P=75423

According to Reporters without Borders, the Serbian organisation 'Veritas', which helps the ICTY in its prosecution of Croat war crimes suspects, published Mesic's identity and testimony in 1999. Did the ICTY take action? No. In fact, in 2000 the ICTY prosecutors issued them with a Letter of Endorsement. See here: http://www.veritas.org.yu/srpski/mksj.htm

These examples are significant as they refer to Mesic's identity and testimony being published by people well known to the ICTY. Not only was the information about Mesic and his testimony made public, it was done by those the ICTY work with or respect.

It is then quite ludicrous to suggest that Jovic committed contempt of court, given that the information was no longer confidential and in fact been put in the public domain by the ICTY themselves and those known to it - and no action had been taken. By the time Jovic had published the information, it could be considered old news.

But, unlike those mentioned above, Jovic is a strong critic of the ICTY - this is the real reason he is being prosecuted.

Jovic was issued with a 'cease and desist' notice dated 1 December 2000 by the ICTY. But, as the judges point out in the Marijacic/Rebic case this amounted to no more than re-entrenchment of previous statements such as the 6 June 1997 order and was nothing new. As mentioned above, the information was no longer confidential due to the action and inaction of the ICTY, making the 1 December 2000 order effectively meaningless - Jovic committed no contempt..

Since Jovic published the information about Mesic, there has been an avalanche of such information. Mesic admitted he was the witness on national television. Countless journalists mentioned it, IWPR mentioned it again on several occasions. The ICTY made no move to stop any of this. Again, this shows they were not concerned for many years.

So it was bizarre when, in 2005, Carla Del Ponte indicted three Croat journalists for revealing Mesic's identity and testimony in 2004 - when it was rather old news. Then, a few months later, she even more bizarrely indicted Jovic for revealing the information in 2000 - five years later.

Like Jovic, the other three journalists are strong critics of Del Ponte and the ICTY.

No doubt Del Ponte and her staff thought these guys would be pushovers - that they would plead guilty, beg forgiveness, make nationalist speeches etc. This didn't happen. One of the journalist, Domagoj Margetic, went on the offensive, speaking to journalists and press freedom groups such as Reporters without Borders and gaining international support.

In a submission to the court, Margetic made it clear that he would present proof of how often Mesic's testimony and identity had been revealed prior to the dates Margetic publishing them.

Del Ponte was staring was staring total humiliation in the face - there was criticism of the ICTY already because of these indictments. Having Magetic play Mesic's admission to the Croatian media that he was the witness would have crushed her authority, make her look a fool and show that this was a political prosecution to silence criticism.

The judges irritated Del Ponte by separating Jovic from the other 3 defendants. Jovic would be tried separately

Del Ponte dropped the indictments against Margetic and his two co-defendants. Margetic - who defended himself - had defeated Del Ponte and got off his two colleagues into the bargain.

A clearly bitter and humiliated Del Ponte claimed that dropping the charges was to save the ICTY's resources - a piece of nonsensical spin to obscure the fact she had no case. She no doubt thinks that Jovic is a much easier target, no doubt related to the fact he is charged with actions committed in 2000. But as shown above, she still has no case.

Indeed, one of the Judges, Judge Bonomy when confirming the dropping of charges on 20 June, took the extraordinary step of severely criticising Del Ponte. He pointed out that by dropping the charges, no resources had been saved, given that they had already been allocated and would not now be used for any other purpose. "It is an empty gesture" he damningly stated. He clearly did not believe a word she said.

He also had some comments on on the forthcoming Jovic hearing that certain matters need to be clarified to ensure justice is done, "... it may be of some importance to explain in the course of the trial why he was not indicted until 2004 for conduct in 2000, and why indeed he was not indicted until several months after the indictment of Šešelj and Margetic."

Clearly, Jovic has a chance to repudiate the charges against him. By demonstrating how others revealed the information on Mesic before him, including the ICTY itself, and so many others since he did, which the ICTY had no problem with, he can show the public that he is innocent and the iniquity of the charges against him. How can the ICTY convict someone of revealing something it effectively allowed to be placed in the public domain?

Lets us hope the judges throw this absurd case out.

Previous articles on this matter can be found at www.croatiafocus.com

Š Brian Gallagher


UN COURT TRIES TO SILENCE JOURNALISTS

by Brian Gallagher, croatiafocus.com

30.09.05

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has indicted a number of Croatian journalists for revealing the identity and testimony in 2004 of a protected witness of the ICTY. They face prison or a fine. However, the identity and testimony of this witness has been made public plenty of times previously not only by journalists but by the witness himself - and the ICTY. The journalists indicted, however, are critics of the ICTY. Journalists who are less critical of the ICTY have not been indicted for revealing the identity of the witness. Clearly, this is the real reason for the indictment - to silence them and intimidate others.

The ICTY has had, for eight years now, the identity of the witness on it’s website. His identity was revealed before he had made his testimony at the ICTY in relation to the case of General Tihomir Blaskic. At this stage, as the document states, the witness was not entitled to protection - the decision to protect him came later. Nonetheless, the ICTY has had this document public - and thus revealing his identity to the world - for eight years on their website.

... see more at croatiafocus.com


UN PROSECUTOR'S DOUBLE STANDARDS

by Brian Gallagher, croatiafocus.com


05.10.05

More information has arisen regarding the case of the Croatian journalists who have been indicted by UN prosecutors for disclosing the identity and testimony of a protected witness in the Blaskic case. (See also UN Court Tries To Silence Journalists)


It transpires that the London based Institute of War and Peace Reporting has repeatedly disclosed the identity of the witness; shamefully not mentioned in their recent reports on the journalists. It is known that a 1997 decision relating to the witness has been on the ICTY website for eight years, identifying the witness. See it here


In relation to reporting to that decision, IWPR [Institute for War and Peace Reporting] mentioned the name in their Tribunal Update 32 of June 9-14, 1997. See it here

In regard to that particular affair, the ICTY also named the witness in their summary of a press briefing in 2003 on their own website. See it here (last paragraph)

The IWPR directly named the individual as a witness in the Blaskic case in its Tribunal Update of 7-11 February 2000. This is of considerable importance as IWPR named the witness before any of the dates mentioned in the indictments. Most of the indictments relate to 2004. However, the indictment against Josip Jovic is for dates in 2000, the earliest being 27 November. The IWPR disclosure comes some months prior to that. See it here

...

Journalists are entitled to be pro ICTY. However, that does not mean the ICTY should consider them above the law. Why should these Croatian journalists face criminal charges and the strain and stress that must create in their lives, whilst IWPR and its journalists do not have to face that - despite naming the witness prior to the dates of the mentioned in the indictments of the Croats?


It is clear double standards, and the ICTY is operating on a political basis; those that criticise it face prosecution for repeating the name of a protected witness, but those uncritical or even supportive of the ICTY can do the same thing with impunity.


And what of IWPR? Their latest reports on the situation shamefully fail to mention that they themselves named the witness repeatedly. What kind of journalism is that? IWPR’s readers are fully entitled to that information - yet it was denied to them. Given that the taxpayer helps pay their wages, it is all the more appalling. IWPR’s silence is a disgrace.

Of course, given that the witness himself has admitted for years that he was a witness, the whole issue is ridiculous. But that has not stopped the UN prosecutors, led by the much criticised Carla del Ponte, whose double standards will no doubt be revealed in excruciating detail by the defendants.

The trial will be very interesting indeed.

Š Brian Gallagher, see more at croatiafocus.com


LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE
Freedom of the press / Libertad de la Prensa

Un journaliste arreté chez lui a la demande du Tribunal pénal international

Ť Nous déplorons cette arrestation soudaine de Josip Jovic par la justice croate, a la suite d’un mandat d’arret du TPIY, qui paraît disproportionnée par rapport a ce qui lui est reproché et qui constitue un dangereux précédent. Compte tenu du mandat du tribunal de La Haye, dont la mission consiste a juger les crimes internationaux les plus graves, il est surprenant qu’une de ses décisions débouche sur l’arrestation d’un journaliste qui, s’il est vrai qu’il n’a pas respecté la loi, n’a pas pour autant commis de crime de sang. Il en est de meme pour les quatre autres journalistes croates également accusés d’outrage a la cour. Considérant que le journaliste ne représente pas un danger pour la Croatie et le TPIY, Reporters sans frontieres demande la libération sous caution de Josip Jovic ť, a déclaré Reporters sans frontieres.

Josip Jovic, rédacteur en chef du quotidien Slobodna Dalmacija, a été arreté le 6 octobre 2005, vers 17h, alors qu’il donnait une interview a son domicile de Split.

... LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE ...


 

[in Croatian] Pismo biskupa Mile Bogovica:

podrška Josipu Jovicu i drugim optuženim novinarima

Nazalost, danas se u nekim slucajevima cini beskorisnim pozivati se na zakone, pa cak i na ustavna prava hrvatskih gradana. Haski sud nije duzan obrazloziti na temelju kojeg zakona trazi izrucenje novinara Josipa Jovica, ali ima iza sebe silu koja nikoga ne moli; ustav Republike Hrvatske treba stititi gradjanska prava Jovica i drugih optuženih novinara, ali nema iza sebe silu. Pace, tužitelji svojih gradana u Hrvatskoj visoko kotiraju. U takvim okolnostima ljudi koji se s time ne slažu nadju neki zaklon od tog "nevremena" i od prigovora vlastite savjesti. No ima i takvih koji se javno usude pitati po kojem se to zakonu sudi i zašto se ne pruza duzna zastita hrvatskih gradana koja im po ustavu pripada. Iako su takvi ljudi danas u javnosti malobrojni, ipak mi je ugodnije biti u njihovu drustvu. Uvjeren sam da je s tim drustvom i vecina gradana, ali nema nacina ili mogucnosti da se izrazi.

S postovanjem,

Mile Bogovic


JOURNALISTS CAN'T BE BLAMED FOR SOMEONE'S ELSE MISTAKES!

We consider the recent apprehension and the arrest of the Croatian journalist Mr. Josip Jovic, who released and published the names of protected witnesses of the ICTY an extremely discriminatory act against Croatia and its people. We would like to explain to Ms Carla del Ponte that in Croatia there are laws stipulating free speech, freedom of thought and the free media. In case she ignores that, she might better have a look at the similar legislation of her country.

The very fact that journalists can find out the name of the protected witness, means that this same witness is not protected at all! The responsibility for this should not be borne by some "folks of the pen," but rather by the organizational structure of the irresponsible Tribunal itself! Therefore, dear Carla, if somebody needs to be castigated, it should be your secretary, or your colleague from the next door office. And why not blame a custodian of the house or a cleaning lady in the Tribunal who spotted a piece of paper on the floor? Why do you sport so much arrogance and come down on these public figures who report in an unbiased manner about your garishness regarding our martyred, poor and small nation? This act of yours can also be understood as a dictatorial venture and a" ukase" of yours.

Croatian World Assembly considers this move of the Hague Tribunal a hypocritical act and detrimental to the internal affairs of Croatia. As our homeland is teeming with all sorts of crime and banditry, the judiciary (both foreign and domestic) cloth with the garb of "crime" our liberators and our poor journalists. The repressive attitude of the "international " Hague institution, which seems to be more enamored with politics than with justice and ethics, demonstrates with this act that is opposed to free speech on the territory of its much cherished " world province " of Croatia.

We are using this opportunity to alert all worthy and honorable members of our people, all our politicians, and especially those who sit at the summit of political power, to reexamine from other perspectives, their own attitudes, their own servile stance regarding the matter of this imposed task of our cooperation with this institution. If we are not allowed to write and to think, how much "independent" are we? Who will consider us a serious people if we don't consider ourselves serious?

www.hssd.hr

President

Niko Šoljak prof. ing.


Hilda M. Foley
So. California Chapter American Croatian Association
13272 Orange Knoll
North Tustin, CA, 92705

Mr. Pierre-Richard Prosper
U.S. State Department
Washington, D.C. 20520

Oct. 4, 2005

Dear Mr. Prosper:

It has come to our attention that a few months ago Congressman Thaddeus McCotter submitted an Amendment to the Appropriation Bill in which he condemned the indictment of six Croatian journalists by the ICTY.

These indictments are indeed unjust because these journalists are accused of publishing the name of a "protected witness" - in this case now Croatian president Mesic, while his name was already revealed several years prior on the ICTY's own web site and was only subsequently picked up by the Croatian journalists. It was also previously disclosed by the Serb Veritas organization, which works closely with ICTY's Prosecutor Del Ponte, even though its leader Strbac was a high official of an illegally occupied Croatian region from 1991-1995, called the "Republic of Serb Krajina", where Serbs committed untold atrocities and ethnically cleansed the entire Croatian population, looting and burning their homes. The ICTY called it a "criminal enterprise", yet uses their lies and false accusations in order to "equalize" the guilt by bringing indictments also against Croatian generals. Furthermore, Del Ponte never indicted Strbac for the disclosure of the "protected witness". Why??

In view of all this, we are dismayed that the State Department pressured Congressman McCotter to remove his Amendment, by telling him that the indicted journalists are "not really journalists".We wonder how you arrived at this totally false assumption. We want to inform you that they are indeed professional journalists, not only by Croatian but by standards of any Western country. Two are editors-in-chiefs of their newspapers and Mr. Margetic is the founder and president of the legitimate Society of Journalists of the Republic of Croatia (UNHR). There are several journalists' societies and one of them, from whom you might have received the false information, is a leftist leaning competitor. That should explain their position, painting anyone who is not a "former" communist as being ultranationalist. They are willing to ruin anyone who dares to have a different opinion from their own.

Sincerely,

Hilda M. Foley

cc. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State


Warcrimes-Croatia-media-reax-RSF
Media watchdog slams arrest of journalist charged by UN court

PARIS, Oct 7 (AFP)

- The media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday condemned the arrest in Croatia of a journalist charged by the UN war crimes tribunal with contempt of court.

"We deplore the sudden arrest of Josip Jovic by the Croatian authorities, in response to a warrant issued by the International Criminal Tribunal" for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Paris-based watchdog said in a statement. RSF demanded the journalist be released on bail, arguing that he "was no threat either to Croatia or to the ICTY".

Calling the arrest "disproportionate" to the offenses Jovic is accused of, RSF said it set an unfortunate precedent. Jovic, a former editor-in-chief of the Slobodna Dalmacija daily, was detained by a county court in southern Croatia Thursday after the UN tribunal issued an arrest warrant for him. He is accused of revealing the identity of a protected witness who testified before the UN court and quoting a secret testimony given during the 1997 trial of former Bosnian Croat general Tihomir Blaskic.

A second Croatian journalist also faces contempt of court charges in The Hague for revealing the identity of a protected witness in the case. Marijan Krizic, editor-in-chief of the Hrvatsko Slovo weekly, pleaded not guilty before the tribunal on Monday. The UN tribunal has already indicted a former head of Croatian intelligence and three other journalists for contempt of court for revealing the identity of witnesses during the trial. They all pleaded not guilty.

If convicted they face a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a 100,000 euro (121,000 dollar) fine.

er/ec/jmy


Novosti - Slobodna Dalmacija 9.10.2005
EKSKLUZIVNO NOVINAR ’SLOBODNE DALMACIJE’ UPUTIO PISMO IZVJEŠTAJ IZ PRITVORA GDJE ČEKA ODLUKU O IZRUČENJU HAAŠKOM SUDU

Jović: Ne izigravam ni žrtvu ni junaka RUGANJE Nikada nisam mogao vjerovati da će se netko tako gorko narugati nezavisnosti ove zemlje i pravnom poretku koji se tako mukotrpno uspostavlja, piše Josip Jović, novinar Slobodne Dalmacije iz pritvora u kojemu iznosi svoje prve dojmove iz uzničke perspektive.

Sadržaj pisma objavljujemo u cijelosti.

"Želim pozdraviti sve prijatelje i kolege koji su mi dali potporu. Nisam izigravao ni žrtvu ni junaka. Samo branim svoju ljudsku i profesionalnu slobodu. Recidiv staljinizma Pomalo se sramim za one koji vode ovu državu i koji primjenjuju njezine zakone. Nikada nisam mogao misliti da je moguć recidiv staljinizma i da će se netko tako gorko narugati nezavisnosti ove zemlje i pravnom poretku, koji se tako mukotrpno uspostavlja. Građani i zakoni Od države u koju smo uložili toliko emocija i za koju je dano puno ljudskih života očekujemo da štiti svoje građane i svoje zakone. Za to valjda ona i postoji."

Josip Jović


Hrvatsko Novinarsko Drustvo: Obustaviti postupak

ZAGREB - Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo, u konzultacijama sa Svjetskom i Europskom novinarskom federacijom (IFJ/EFJ), poziva Tribunal u Haagu da razmotri mogućnost obustave postupka protiv Josipa Jovića i drugih optuženih hrvatskih novinara. Kako se ističe u priopćenju što ga je uputio predsjednik Društva Dragutin Lučić, ta strukovna udruga izražava žaljenje što se Josip Jović nije odazvao pozivu Haaškog suda, gdje je jedino mogao i trebao braniti svoje stavove, kao i stoga što mu je zbog neodaziva Županijski sud u Splitu odredio pritvor.

- No, Jovićev primjer pokazuje kako bi u složenim slučajevima profesionalno-etičke prirode bilo dobro da o mogućim propustima odlučuju kolege po struci, a ne sudovi - ističu u HND-u. Odbacujući praksu uhićenja novinara zbog objavljenih tekstova, u HND-u drže kako svaki novinar ima pravo na priziv savjesti i građanski neposluh, što za sobom povlači i rizik kaznenog gonjenja, kao u slučaju Jović.


Please, stop "helping"
indicted Croatian journalists!

By Mario Profaca

Confused and incompetent Dragutin Lucic, president of irrelevant Croatian Journalists' Association (since no one of ICTY indicted Croatian journalists is a member of that, one of three journalists' professional associations in Croatia) keeps giving his Pythian "statements" referring to the case of Croatian journalists indicted with contempt of the Hague Tribunal. Lucic told Croatian news agency Hina he "discussed the Jovic case" with the undersecretary of the International Federation of Journalists, Oliver Money Kyrle, and that "he had notified" the federation's secretary-general, Aidan White, and the president of the European Federation of Journalists, Arne Koenig, "asking them to interpret the case" (?!).

Dragutin Lucic today also told Croatian Television that "detaining journalists isn't good message, no matter whether it was justified or not." (?!).

Yesterday Dragutin Lucic told Vecernji list newspaper "According to his comprehensions," (sic) "once extradited to the Hague Tribunal arrested journalist Josip Jovic will soon come back home if he apologies to the court or pays the fine (?!)".

At the same time, Dragutin Lucic told Janet Anderson IWPR (Institute for War & Peace Reporting) project manger in The Hague that even though none of the "individuals" were members of his association, he still felt it was important to defend their rights as members of the press. However, he felt the issue here is not necessarily press freedom. Lucic also argues that "these people should go to The Hague to defend themselves".

"They play like politicians not like journalists,"
said Lucic of the Croatian journalists' association to IWPR, comparing the maneuvering to a political game.

Interestingly, Pascal Bonnamour, president of RSF for Europe (Reporters without frontiers) in Paris, France - when showed her interest and concerns for indicted Croatian journalists, was "officially" informed from Zagreb that journalists in question were "not journalists at all, but nationalists and Tudjmanists".

Evidently, there are so many "individuals" including Dragutin Lucic in the Croatian Journalists' Association who should better stop "defending" indicted Croatian journalists as soon as possible. It would be also the biggest help for Josip Jovic who is now detained in Split prison waiting his extradition to the International Criminal Tribunal for (war crimes committed in) the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Mario Profaca
http://mprofaca.cro.net/haag_novinari.html


 

Novosti - Slobodna Dalmacija 9.10.2005 BRANITELJI POSJETILI JOSIPA JOVIĆA NA BILICAMA

’Pritvor je nezakonit’

NA SLOBODI Obrana očekuje da će Jović biti pušten najkasnije u utorak IZUZEĆE Odvjetnička ekipa tražit će izuzeće vijeća Haaškog tribunala NEPOŠTOVANJE Jović je optužen za nepoštovanje Suda, što nije kazneno djelo, a bez kaznenog djela nema ni pritvora, veli odvjetnik Vinko Ljubičić

SPLIT - Obrana Josipa Jovića drži da je taj novinar "Slobodne Dalmacije" pritvoren — protuzakonito. Odvjetnici su cijeli slučaj, a osobito odluku o pritvoru, nazvali blamažom hrvatskog pravosuđa. — Uhićenje, pritvor i izručenje mogu biti određeni samo za osobe osumnjičene za ratni zločin, tako kaže Statut Haaškog tribunala. Jović nije optužen za ratni zločin i ne može biti izručen. Sve ostalo su filozofije srama — istaknuo je Krešimir Krsnik, jedan od Jovićevih odvjetnika, u petak na Bilicama, nakon posjeta pritvorenom novinaru. Politički pritisak

Branitelji su u petak navečer predali žalbu splitskom Županijskom sudu na odluku o pritvoru i vjeruju da će Jović biti oslobođen najkasnije u utorak. Naglasili su kako ne mogu vjerovati u mogućnost da splitski novinar bude izručen Haagu mimo zakonskih propisa i pravomoćne odluke domaćih sudova jer bi to predstavljalo gaženje Ustava. Ne želimo vjerovati ni da bi pravosuđe djelovalo pod političkim pritiskom — dodao je Krsnik. Prema njegovim riječima cijela sudska procedura do pravomoćnosti odluke o izručenju mogla bi potrajati i mjesec dana. — Ni Haaški tribunal neće moći zadržati Jovića u pritvoru ako ga Hrvatska kojim slučajem i izruči. To je sigurno zato što splitski novinar nije počinio kazneno djelo. On je optužen za nepoštovanje Suda, to nije kazneno djelo, a bez kaznenog djela nema ni pritvora. Jovićevo pritvaranje je školski primjer nezakonitog odlučivanja Županijskog suda u Splitu — kazao nam je Vinko Ljubičić, Jovićev odvjetnik.

Krsnik je naglasio da će obrana tražiti izuzeće vijeća Haaškog tribunala, jer "postupa pristrano i odlučilo se na pravne korake prije nego su rješenja bila pravomoćna".

Uhidbeni nalog — Od Tribunala smo podneskom bili tražili odgodu pojavljivanja. Kazali smo da poštujemo Sud i da ćemo doći, ali smo i rekli da imamo pravo proći kroz kontrolu hrvatskog pravosuđa i ako ono utvrdi da moramo ići, mi ćemo to i učiniti — pojasnio je Krsnik. Dodao je da pisani otpravak iz Haaga nije dobio danima. Potom je tražio stavljanje uhidbenog naloga (koji je u međuvremenu izdan) izvan snage. — Jović je završio u pritvoru prije nego su haaška rješenja postala pravomoćna. Reagirali su preuranjeno. Drugim riječima, moguće je da drugostupanjsko vijeće u Haagu udovolji našem prvom zahtjevu za odgodu, a novinar je pritvoren — kazao je Krsnik.

Na pitanje kako komentira razmišljanja prema kojima bi se sve izbjeglo da se Jović odazvao haaškom pozivu, Krsnik je odgovorio da je to istina, ali i da Jović ima pravo reći kako prije svega postoje zakoni zemlje u kojoj živi i koja ga mora štititi.

Damir TOLJ

Saslušanje

Izvanraspravno vijeće Županijskog suda u Splitu u dva će navrata raspravljati o Josipu Joviću. Prvi put će rješavati njegovu žalbu na rješenje istražnog suca o određivanju pritvora, dok će na drugoj sjednici odlučivati o zahtjevu Haaškog suda za predaju bivšega glavnog urednika "Slobodne Dalmacije". Druga sjednica će biti javna i tada će tročlano vijeće, prije donošenja odluke, saslušati Jovića.

Nisu mi dali vidjeti oca

Pritvorenoga Josipa Jovića u petak je namjeravao posjetiti i njegov sin Mihovil. Stigao je na Bilice, ali mu nije bilo dopušteno vidjeti oca, dobio je tek dopuštenje ostaviti mu nekoliko osobnih stvari. — Čuli smo se s ocem, dobro je onoliko koliko se može biti dobro u tim uvjetima. Rekao nam je da dijeli sobu s trojicom i da nema problema — kazao nam je Jovićev sin Mihovil.


The indictments are an abrogation of basic press freedoms

Washington Times Commentary
Another U.N. miscue?
By Jeffrey Kuhner
October 23, 2005

The United Nations is involved in another scandal. This time, however, it threatens to implicate numerous officials in the U.S. State Department.

Recent revelations of massive corruption in the U.N.'s oil-for-food
program, as well as accusations of rampant sex abuse by peacekeepers in places such as Cambodia and Kosovo, have finally compelled the Bush administration to demand greater accountability and reform of the world body.

Yet there is another area Washington needs to investigate: the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Based in The Hague, the ICTY is a U.N. court designed to prosecute war crimes committed during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Instead, the court has become a politicized instrument seeking to wipe out its democratic critics in the region.

The ICTY's latest outrage are its indictments of five journalists and a former counterintelligence officer in Croatia for "contempt of the tribunal." Their alleged "crime" was they published the identity and
statements of a protected witness in the 1998 case of a Bosnian Croat general. Even more outrageous, these men face possibly seven years in jail and a $120,000 fine. In other words, they are assaulted for doing their job: providing the public sensitive, important information.

The indictments are an abrogation of basic press freedoms. The ICTY actions have been condemned by many human rights organizations and media watchdog groups. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has urged the tribunal to "operate in accordance with the principles of freedom of the press and, as a result, apply the same safeguards in its procedures
that are usually expected in national jurisdictions."

But the ICTY is not interested in abiding by traditional democratic
standards. The tribunal is deliberately targeting critics in the Croatian media. On the other hand, the ICTY has refused to prosecute media allies, such as the Institute for War and Peace Reporting and the Croatian daily, Novi List, which have published the exact same identity and testimony.

Speaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace on June 14, ICTY chief
prosecutor Carla Del Ponte displayed her thuggish hostility toward tribunal opponents. During the question-and-answer session, she was confronted by a Croatian journalist who denounced tribunal attacks on press freedoms. Asked if she would indict him now that he had publicly criticized her, Mrs. Del Ponte responded: "Who knows?"

Even if said in jest (and there is nothing remotely humorous about
destroying innocent people's lives), Mrs. Del Ponte's comment was revealing: It shows her lack of judgment and her arrogant, irresponsible execution of her duties.

Billed as the great successor to the Nuremberg trials, the ICTY has
instead become a laughingstock. Mrs. Del Ponte even bungled the trial of former Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic -- the Butcher of the Balkans, who is responsible for the deaths of more than 250,000 people and the ethnic cleansing of several million Albanians, Bosnians and Croats.

In February 2004, Mrs. Del Ponte admitted she did not have enough evidence to convict Mr. Milosevic on the most serious charges. This alone should have forced Washington and Brussels to replace her with a more competent prosecutor.

Moreover, it is common for the ICTY to offer reduced sentences for notorious mass murderers. For example, Mrs. Del Ponte agreed to have former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic, an architect of the Serbs' ethnic cleansing campaign, plead guilty to "genocide" in exchange for a sentence of only 11 years. Hence, a confessed genocidal killer responsible for thousands of deaths will spend less time in jail than most armed burglars.

Mrs. Del Ponte has also attacked Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Catholic Church. Recently, she accused the Vatican hierarchy -- without any concrete evidence at all -- of protecting fugitive Croatian Gen. Ante Gotovina.

Asked to provide verifiable proof for her slanderous accusations, Mrs. Del Ponte could not. That begs the question: Why does the State Department adamantly support this out-of-control U.N. prosecutor whose actions undermine the tribunal's credibility? State Department operatives have tenaciously defended Mrs. Del Ponte: they justify and rationalize her every act -- no matter how
outrageous. The State Department is now directly involved in covering up her scandalous behavior. Mrs. Del Ponte's misconduct warrants a full congressional investigation. If House Republicans prevail, they may just get one. The powerful House International Relations Committee (HIRC) is beginning to look into Mrs. Del Ponte's actions, especially the journalists' indictments. "We are
investigating this," a senior committee member said on the ondition of anonymity. "We are taking this very seriously." Indeed, this is grave for Americans: The United States is a major financial ICTY backer. This year alone, Washington spent $23 million. It is outrageous that U.S. taxpayer money is squandered to support a war crimes tribunal that slanders priests and prosecutes reporters, while failing to adequately punish some of the 20th century's most vicious war criminals. HIRC Chairman Henry Hyde, Illinois Republican, is serving his final term in Congress. There is no better way for him to end his illustrious career than by leading the effort to expose this growing U.N. scandal. It is the right thing to do. It is the American thing to do.

Jeffrey Kuhner is a freelance writer and contributor to the Commentary Pages at The Washington Times.

source: CROWN


www.josip-jovic.hrvati-amac.com

www.domagojmargetic.com


Outstanding Croatian newspapermen

First some of those killed during the 1990-1995 Greater-Serbian aggression on Croatia:

Luka Brajnovic, a retired professor of Ethics of the University of Navarra, Spain