Judgement (2nd Contempt Case) - Šešelj - 31 October 2011

More Information: http://www.icty.org/sid/10835

Trial Chamber II today convicted Vojislav Šešelj of contempt of the Tribunal and sentenced him to 18 months' imprisonment for disclosing confidential information pertaining to protected witnesses in a book he authored.

Šešelj, the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, is on trial before the Tribunal for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between 1991 and 1994 against the non-Serb population from large parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Vojvodina, Serbia.

On 4 February 2010, the Trial Chamber filed an order in lieu of an indictment and initiated contempt proceedings against Šešelj for disclosing, in violation of the Trial Chamber's orders, information on 11 protected witnesses, including their real names, occupations and places of residence, in a book he authored.

Šešelj admitted he was the author of the book which was published after decisions granting protective measures were rendered in relation to 10 of the 11 witnesses. Šešelj refused to enter a plea to the charges and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf at his further appearance on 6 May 2010. The trial commenced on 22 February 2011 and concluded on 8 June 2011.

The Trial Chamber found that "the Accused knew he was disclosing information which identified ten of the witnesses and revealed that they could be involved in the Šešelj case when he published the Book, and that he did so intentionally, with the knowledge that by doing so, he was violating decisions of the Šešelj Trial Chamber."

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