The UN court's chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, has recently indicted Croatian journalists Ivica Marijacic, Domagoj Margetic and Stjepan Seselj, as well as ex-intelligence chief Markica Rebic, for contempt of court because they revealed the identities and testimonies of protected witnesses from the Tihomir Blaskic trial.
"These indictments are a direct assault on Croatia's democracy and its independent media," wrote Jeffrey T. Kuhner, communications director at the Ripon Society, a Republican policy institute.
This is why Del Ponte's actions have aroused the attention of Republicans on Capitol Hill, as well as leading US press watchdog groups, said the article.
"We are concerned about the tribunal's activities in regards to the indictments of these journalists and we are watching it closely," Alex Lupis, Europe programme coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, America's largest organization devoted to monitoring and protecting global press freedom, was quoted as saying.
"We think the tribunal should focus on indicting and prosecuting war criminals rather than going after journalists," he was quoted as saying. "There is a legitimate need on behalf of the tribunal to protect secret witness testimony but this is not the best way to go about it."
According to the article, leading Republicans maintain these indictments may trigger a movement in Congress to cut off funding for the Hague tribunal. "This is something we will be looking into," an official on the House International Relations Committee was quoted as saying on the condition of anonymity.
The article said the official described the indictments as "outrageous," especially since the ICTY is partly financed by US taxpayers.
"Surely, Americans are not pleased their hard-earned money is being used to help put journalists in jail," wrote Kuhner.