Seselj pleaded not guilty after Judge Alphonse Orie asked him to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.
Margetic is charged with two counts, one referring to the contempt of court and the second covering his publication of the transcript of a protected testimony in the 'Novo Hrvatsko Slovo' newspaper after the court ordered the cessation of its publication. He also pleaded not guilty.
According to the indictment, on 26 November 2004, the 'Hrvatsko Slovo' weekly published excerpts from a testimony of a protected witness who testified in closed session at the trial of Bosnian Croat Tihomir Blaskic in March 1998, and the paper also revealed the identity of that witness, announcing the continuation of the publication in the next ten issues.
On 2 December 2004, the weekly published the next installment, and on the same day the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) banned the further publication. The next day, Stjepan Seselj informed the ICTY of his compliance with the order, while Margetic responded with an insulting letter to the ICTY President Theodor Meron, stating that he recognised neither the Court nor its orders. Margetic also announced that he was going to publish the full text of the protected witness's testimony in the new newspaper 'Novo Hrvatsko Slovo' on 8 December. Therefore Margetic is also charged with obstruction of justice and violation of a court order.
The protected witness was Stjepan Mesic, the current Croatian President.
The prosecutor in the proceedings against Seselj and Margetic, David Eckerson, announced at today's session that he would deliver the accompanying material of the indictment to the defence later in the day, with a few additional details later, and voiced readiness of the prosecution to step up the pre-trial so as to make it possible for the trial to start as soon as possible.
Seselj's lawyer Zeljko Olujic announced his appeal against the indictment in the 30 days after the defence team got all the accompanying material.
Olujic also voiced surprise at the fact that his client was summonsed for an interview with ICTY investigators in Zagreb on 17 June, after Seselj entered a plea of not guilty.
Asked by reporters whether the interview could be linked with another investigation allegedly directed at the source of the transcript in question, Olujic declined to answer the question.
Margetic's lawyer Zeljko Dumancic told reporters that it was too early to say how much time the team would need to prepare the defence and that it depended on the material the lawyers would receive.
Closing today's session, Judge Orie said that the next hearing would be scheduled at a later date in consultation with all the parties.
Earlier in the day, Hrvatski List editor-in-chief Ivica Marijacic and ex-military intelligence chief Markica Rebic pleaded not guilty to contempt of court charges at their first appearance before the Hague war crimes tribunal.
Marijacic and Rebic were indicted for revealing in the November 2004 issues of Hrvatski List the identity and testimony of a protected witness from the Blaskic trial.
The indictment was confirmed on February 26 this year. Under ICTY rules, contempt of court is punishable with up to seven years in jail, a fine of EUR100,000, or a combination of the two.
Rebic, a former presidential national security advisor, is accused of having revealed to Marijacic the identity of the protected witness and given him a copy of the witness statement to the Prosecution and the transcript of his testimony at a closed-door hearing that took place on 19 December 1997.
On 18 November 2004, Hrvatski List published an article headlined "World Exclusive - We are the First in the World to Publish the SECRET DOCUMENT Showing Carla Del Ponte's Conspiracy Against Croatia". Under the indictment, Marijacic and Rebic revealed the witness' identity and testimony aware that they were breaking ICTY rules.
Marijacic's lawyer Marin Ivanovic and Rebic's lawyer Kresimir Krsnik said they would request that the indictment be dismissed because it was not issued in accordance with the ICTY rules.
Prosecutor Eckerson said the investigation was still under way due to some previous incidents and that further charges might be brought.
Leaving the tribunal's courtroom, the lawyers told reporters that they were convinced that the ICTY would uphold their request for the charges to be dropped and that no trial would be held in this case.
Krsink said that the tribunal's prosecutors overstepped their authority and that the defence would object to it as this could "set a dangerous precedent". Reporters worldwide cannot be forbidden to publish what they have heard from their sources, Krsnik said.