Seselj to Face New Contempt of Court Charges at the ICTY
Last week a new order, signed by Judge O Gon Kwon, was made against Vojislav Seselj for contempt of court, he is accused of disclosing information that may reveal the identity of 11 protected prosecution witnesses in a book he authored. The title of the book was not disclosed. In July 2009, Seselj was found guilty of contempt of court for disclosing the identity and testimony of three protected witnesses. Seselj was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
The prosecution asked for the new contempt of court proceedings in a confidential motion filed in January 2009. The Trial Chamber rejected the motion, noting that ‘while it had sufficient grounds to believe that confidential information was disclosed’ in the book, the Chamber was ‘not persuaded that disclosure attained such a level of gravity’ to instigate proceedings against Seselj. The prosecution appealed against the decision. In December 2009, the Appeals Chamber granted the appeal, ordering the Special Chamber to file a new indictment against Seselj.
The Special Chamber has already issued an order to the Tribunal’s Registrar to appoint counsel amicus curiae to represent the prosecution. Seselj will enter his plea on the counts in the indictment at a later date.