Šešelj contempt sentence confirmed

The Hague Tribunal confirmed Vojislav Šešelj’s conviction for contempt of court and his 15 month imprisonment.

This came on Wednesday, after an appeals chamber dismissed his appeal and upheld the initial decision, handed down in late July last year, said a statement from the court.

On July 24, 2009, a tribunal panel sentenced Šešelj to 15 months in prison for disclosing personal data about three protected witnesses in one of his books.

The three witnesses had testified against Šešelj in connection with his indictment for crimes against non-Serbs in Croatia, Vojvodina and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1991-1993 period.

Šešelj’s appeal was not debated in court, and the ruling was published in writing only.

Furthermore, Šešelj’s appeal was not available to public after being labeled confidential on Aug. 18 last year.

It can be concluded that in the appeal Šešelj stated that his intention to reveal the witnesses’ identity was not proved considering that he had published only public documents and that a conviction could not be made solely based parts of the book translated into English.

Recently, the tribunal has for the second time accused Šešelj of contempt for disclosing the identity of 11 protected witnesses in in his book.

Šešelj refused to enter a plea, while the judges, in line with the tribunal rules, registered his silence as a plea of not guilty.