The presiding judge re-scheduled the start of trial for Tuesday, 11 July 2006 at 8:00 and ordered the accused to appear before the Trial Chamber at that time, the ICTY said.
The Trial Chamber informed parties that they would issue an arrest warrant for Jovic"s arrest should he again fail to appear for trial and that he would remain in Tribunal custody until such a time as a new start of trial date could be identified.
"I did not go today because of my wife's deteriorated condition," Jovic said adding that his legal representative would try to explain the situation to the judges.
Jovic's attorney Kresimir Krsnik said Jovic's wife broke her leg, adding that Jovic sought help from the local social welfare centre. They were not able to find a person to take care of Jovic's wife. Judge Ian Bonomy said they had more than enough time to organise themselves and find a person to take care of Mrs. Jovic, but Krsnik said his client was under a lot of stress and that it was not certain if Jovic would even be able to attend the trial.
Jovic, a former editor of the Croatian daily newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija, is accused of violating a court order for the identity of a witness appearing in a trial at the Tribunal not be released to the public. Specifically, the prosecution alleges that between 27 November and 29 December 2000, Jovic published the identity of the witness, as well as extracts of the testimony of the witness even after the court ordered him on 1 December 2000 not to do so.
In October 2005, Jovic was arrested by Croatian authorities and transferred to the Tribunal after he failed to respond to a court order requiring him to travel to The Hague to enter a plea to the charge against him. He entered a "not guilty" plea on 14 October 2005 and was released pending the start of the trial.