"I can confirm that the indictments have arrived and have been submitted to a judge who will act in line to the law on cooperation with the Hague tribunal," court official Djuro Sessa briefly told Hina. He also declined to reveal the name of the judge who took the case, but said the judge is expected hand the indictment to the accused within three days at the latest and inform them of their rights and obligations.
Sessa said the Court did not receive arrest warrants.
The court received two indictments -- one referring to Rebic and Marijancic and the other to Margetic and Seselj. There is no information on whether the first indictment had also been forwarded to the County Court in Zadar, where Marijancic resides.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Wednesday issued indictments against former head of the Croatian military intelligence service Markica Rebic, journalist Ivica Marijacic and the editor and the publisher of the Hrvatsko Slovo newspaper, Domagoj Margetic and Stjepan Seselj, charging them with contempt of court. The four men had revealed the identity of protected witnesses from the trial of Tihomir Blaskic.
The Croatian Justice Ministry reported earlier today that it had received a request for legal assistance from the ICTY in connection with the four Croatian citizens indicted for contempt of court.
In line with provisions of the Constitutional Law on Cooperation with the Hague tribunal, the ICTY statute and rule book on the proceedings and evidence, the ministry has forwarded the indictments to competent county courts," Assistant Justice Minister Jaksa Muljacic said.
Markica Rebic is accused of revealing the identity of a protected witness to Ivica Marijacic, Hrvatski List editor in chief and giving him transcripts of Blaskic's trial from closed sessions.
Seselj and Margetic are charged because they published transcripts of the testimony of another witness given at a closed-door session.
The Croatian Cultural Council on Friday dismissed the indictments against the four men, stressing they were contrary to freedom of the media, guaranteed by the Constitution.
"We believe the new indictments are aimed at intimidating Croatian journalists, as well as present and future witnesses who are obliged to tell the truth. We also condemn the statement by The Croatian Journalists' Association the author of which uses the indictments to square accounts with people who have different point of views," read the statement signed by Hrvoje Hitrec.