Serb radical leader charged with contempt of court by UN war crimes tribunal

Serb radical leader charged with contempt of court by UN war crimes tribunal

2011-05-25 00:31:58 GMT+7 (ICT)

THE HAGUE (BNO NEWS) -- The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague on Tuesday charged the leader of the Serb Radical Party who is on trial for alleged war crimes.

Vojislav Šešelj was charged for failing to remove confidential information from his personal website in violation of orders of a Trial Chamber. The data included three books authored by Šešelj and five confidential filings submitted by him as part of his main trial and two previous trials for contempt of court.

These documents reveal confidential information about a number of protected witnesses who testified in Šešelj's main trial before the Tribunal for alleged war crimes. These charges are the third of their kind against him by the ICTY.

Šešelj turned himself in eight years ago to face charges of war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Vojvodina region of Serbia between 1991 and 1994.

"The tribunal regards the integrity of witnesses and confidential materials as essential elements in the rule of law," the ICTY said in a statement. "Several persons who have attempted to interfere with the judicial process by revealing confidential information have been prosecuted."

Šešelj was found guilty on the first contempt trial on May 19, 2010. He was ordered to remove a book from his website. The second contempt trial is under way after proceedings were initiated on February 4, 2010.

For a second time, Šešelj disclosed the personal details of protected witnesses in another book he authored. Proceedings are ongoing for the third trial and the Trial Chamber ordered the removal of the book on January 31.

No date has been set for the third trial but the Trial Chamber announced it will prosecute this case itself. An initial appearance at which Šešelj will be called to enter a plea to the charge will be scheduled in due course.

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