The trial Chamber found them guilty of contempt of the Tribunal because they revealed the identity and testimony of a protected witness in the trial of Tihomir Blaskic.
On 18 November 2004, an article appeared in Hrvatski List, a Croatian newspaper, concerning a Dutch army officer, Johannes van Kuijk, who had testified in closed session before this Tribunal in December 1997, during the Blaškić trial, the ICTY said. The article was written by Ivica Marijacić and was printed adjacent to an interview with Markica Rebić, who was said to be the source of the material for the article, the Tribunal reported. In addition to revealing the identity of Lieutenant van Kuijk, the newspaper printed extracts from a written statement that he had given to the Prosecution in August 1997. The headline on the front page of the 18 November 2004 edition of Hrvatski List declared that what was being published was a "Secret Document," and this was repeated in the article written by Mr. Marijacić, the ICTY said.