![ICTY charges Croatian journalist with contempt for publishing witness names](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] on Monday charged freelance Croatian journalist Domagoj Margetic with contempt of court for posting the names of two protected witnesses on his website. Margetic is accused of publishing the names of witnesses who testified in the trial of Tihomir Blaskic [ICTY case backgrounder], a former Croatian militia commander in Bosnia who was convicted [judgment text] in 2000 of crimes against humanity, war crimes and other charges. Blaskic's initial 45-year sentence was reduced to nine years [JURIST report] in 2004, but ICTY prosecutors have asked the court to reopen the case in light of new witness testimony.
Last month, Croatian journalist Josip Jovic was found guilty of contempt [judgment summary; JURIST report] for publishing transcripts of a closed court session during Blaskic's trial. This is not the first time Margetic has faced contempt charges. While an editor of weekly publication Hrvatsko Slovo, Margetic and the paper's publisher were charged with contempt of the tribunal [indictment] in 2005 for publishing witness testimony. That indictment, however, was withdrawn [decision, PDF] in June 2006. Reuters has more.