Jovic, former editor-in-chief of Slobodna Dalmacija daily, was arrested on 6 October by Croatian police, acting on a 28 September arrest warrant issued by the Tribunal, after he failed to appear in court.
In a letter addressed to ICTY President Theodor Meron, Haraszti raised the cases of Jovic and four other Croatian journalists who have been recently indicted for contempt of court, consisting of publishing a classified testimony and revealing the name of a protected witness during the Tihomir Blaskic trial, the press release said.
"I have full respect for the institution of the protected witness," wrote the OSCE Representative.
"However, I believe that the ICTY should operate in accordance with the principles of freedom of the press and, as a result, apply the same safeguards in its procedures that are usually expected in national jurisdictions. In particular, I believe the ICTY should respect the public's right to know, and its interest in an uninhibited debate about past crimes and present leaders," Haraszti said.in his letter published on the OSCE web page.
"In any democracy the fact that a leading politician had testified in a court of law would be of considerable public interest, and therefore a natural subject for reporting. I hope that this simple truth is taken into account when adjudicating the journalists' cases," added Haraszti.
The OSCE Representative said that under the regulations of the European Court of Human Rights and the judicial practices of many democracies, imprisonment of a journalist for dissemination of classified information was always disproportionate punishment, and its chilling effect hindered unconstrained debate of public issues.
Haraszti asked the Tribunal President to amend Rule 77 of the Tribunal's Rules of Procedure and Evidence that deals with contempt, so that it would only apply to those officials who have actually leaked confidential information, the press release said.