Slobodna Dalmacija revealed the identity of Stjepan Mesic after he had testified at the ICTY as a protected witness in the trial of former Bosnian Croat commander Tihomir Blaskic in 1998.
The defence said that Mesic, who became President of Croatia in 2000, had himself told Croatian media that he had testified against Blaskic.
Mesic himself unequivocally told Feral Tribune, Vecernji List, Croatian Television and Croatian Radio that he had appeared in The Hague as a witness, Jovic's defence attorney Kresimir Krsnik told the Trial Chamber, noting that Mesic's interview with Feral Tribune was published only a week after he had testified in closed session in the Blaskic trial on March 16, 1998.
Krsnik submitted in evidence copies of relevant newspaper articles, including Mesic's interview with Feral Tribune, which was carried on March 23, 1998 under the headline "Yes, I Testified in the Blaskic Case", and an article carried by Vjesnik, which quoted Blaskic's attorney Ante Nobilo as saying that "Mesic's testimony made the defence position difficult".
The defence also submitted a copy of a document posted on the ICTY web site relating to a session that discussed protection for Mesic.
Krsnik said that Mesic was contradictory in his statements in 1998 saying on one occasion that he was not a protected witness while insisting on the other that he was.
Presiding Judge Iain Bonomy said this was an important fact since Mesic first asserted that he was not a protected witness and later hid behind the institution of witness protection.
The judge also requested verification of allegations suggesting that Mesic's identity had been revealed before, including ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte's interview with Jutarnji List daily of April 7, 2000, in which she said: "President Mesic is a great friend of the Hague tribunal. He was a very important witness in one of the trials."
Prosecutor David Eckerson recommended that Jovic be found guilty of contempt of the tribunal for deliberate obstruction of justice.
Under the ICTY Rules of Evidence and Procedure this offence carries a prison sentence of up to seven years or a fine of up to 100,000 euros.
The prosecutor submitted in evidence copies of articles from Slobodna Dalmacija from November and December 2000 including a transcript of Mesic's testimony and an ICTY order banning further publication of the transcript.
Jovic said that he had received the transcript of Mesic's testimony in January or February 2000 when an envelope containing three floppy discs was left at the reception desk in the Slobodna Dalmacija head office in Split.
The accused said that the transcript was published ten months later because the newspaper's editorial board had to decide whether to make it public or not and in what form and to verify its authenticity. He added that Slobodna Dalmacija began publishing the transcript only after other newspapers did it, including Globus weekly.
After the ICTY issued a ban, Slobodna Dalmacija stopped the publication for six days and requested an opinion from the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the government and legal experts, who all said that publication of the transcript was not in violation of Croatian laws, Jovic said.
Even Mesic himself said at the time that the publication of the transcript suited him provided there were no falsifications, the accused added.
Jovic also cited the opinion of the Executive Board of the Croatian Journalists' Association, according to which the ICTY ban represented "an attempt to censor the media (...) because no one has the right to withhold any important piece of information from the public."
The trial was expected to conclude today and a judgement was to be announced at a later date.
Three journalists from Hrvatsko Slovo weekly were also charged with the same offence, but the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor recently withdrew the indictments against them.