Rebic was accompanied by his attorney Veljko Miljevic. While Rebic declined to speak to the press, Miljevic said his client would appear before the tribunal and enter a plea of not guilty.
Miljevic said that at a status conference which will focus on the preparations for the trial, he would try to contest the jurisdiction of the Hague tribunal for the case against Rebic and another indictee, editor in chief of Hrvatski List newspaper Ivica Marijacic. The two are charged with contempt of court because in November 2004 they revealed the identity of a protected witness and the transcript of his testimony for a closed session of the trial of Tihomir Blaskic in December 1997.
Marijacic picked up his summons yesterday at the Zadar County Court. He said he would appear before the tribunal and plead not guilty.
Also charged with contempt of court are the publisher and the former editor in chief of Hrvatsko Slovo newspaper, Stjepan Seselj and Domagoj Margetic. They are also charged with having revealed the identity of another protected witness and published the transcripts of his testimony also from the Blaskic trial.
The ICTY rules on proceedings and evidence stipulate a penalty of up to seven years in prison and fine of up to EUR100,000 or a combination of the two for contempt of court.