Florence Hartmann jailed for struggling for truth
The former spokeswoman of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Florence Hartman, was arrested on Thursday, 24 March, outside the ICTY building and taken to serve a seven-day jail term. Hartmann was arrested by ICTY security officers on orders of the chamber that rendered a final judgment against her. Civil society representatives from the region of the former Yugoslavia hereby voice their support for Florence Hartmann and her uncompromising struggle for truth.
Florence Hartmann was not given the jail sentence because she did something that is usually considered to constitute contempt of court, such as tampering with witnesses or refusal to give evidence before the international court, but because of exposing and countering the practice of concealing documents in order to protect the interests of some states. Namely, in her book “Paix et Châtiment” [Peace and Punishment] and the article entitled “Vital Genocide Documents Concealed’, published in January 2008, Hartmann revealed information relating to the decision of the ICTY Appeals Chamber ordering that the documents created by the Supreme Defence Council which Serbia supplied to the Tribunal during the trial of Slobodan Milošević be filed as confidential.
Let us quote the statement that Hartmann has recently given to the N1 TV Station during the Pressing talk show: “I discovered a decision in which judges say ‘we are concealing very important archives of the Milosevic regime because should Bosnia seek reparation, Serbia would have to pay millions of dollars, which would affect Serbia’s economy (…) This is the only part I used. The judges later removed the classification from these documents themselves, because I had said that was an unlawful thing to do. They disgraced themselves by accusing me, by issuing an arrest warrant for me. What matters is that we now have access to these documents“.
We are profoundly convinced that what Florence Hartmann did may be contrary to the ICTY Statute but is certainly not contrary to justice. Quite the opposite. Therefore we stand by her in her commitment to the pursuit of truth and efforts to make official state archives available to the public.
Lastly, we would like to draw attention to the fact that the Hague Tribunal made a decision to arrest Florence Hartmann at the moment when it showed weakness with respect to Vojislav Šešelj’s decision not to appear before the court for the pronouncement of the judgment against him and Serbia’s refusal to hand over Šešelj and another three members of the Serbian Radical Party accused of contempt of court for tampering with witnesses, to the ICTY. The Hague Tribunal used to apply the same standards to all accused persons in the past, so it should do so in this case too.
Florence Hartmann jailed for struggling for truth
The former spokeswoman of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Florence Hartman, was arrested on Thursday, 24 March, outside the ICTY building and taken to serve a seven-day jail term. Hartmann was arrested by ICTY security officers on orders of the chamber that rendered a final judgment against her. Civil society representatives from the region of the former Yugoslavia hereby voice their support for Florence Hartmann and her uncompromising struggle for truth.
Florence Hartmann was not given the jail sentence because she did something that is usually considered to constitute contempt of court, such as tampering with witnesses or refusal to give evidence before the international court, but because of exposing and countering the practice of concealing documents in order to protect the interests of some states. Namely, in her book “Paix et Châtiment” [Peace and Punishment] and the article entitled “Vital Genocide Documents Concealed’, published in January 2008, Hartmann revealed information relating to the decision of the ICTY Appeals Chamber ordering that the documents created by the Supreme Defence Council which Serbia supplied to the Tribunal during the trial of Slobodan Milošević be filed as confidential.
Let us quote the statement that Hartmann has recently given to the N1 TV Station during the Pressing talk show: “I discovered a decision in which judges say ‘we are concealing very important archives of the Milosevic regime because should Bosnia seek reparation, Serbia would have to pay millions of dollars, which would affect Serbia’s economy (…) This is the only part I used. The judges later removed the classification from these documents themselves, because I had said that was an unlawful thing to do. They disgraced themselves by accusing me, by issuing an arrest warrant for me. What matters is that we now have access to these documents“.
We are profoundly convinced that what Florence Hartmann did may be contrary to the ICTY Statute but is certainly not contrary to justice. Quite the opposite. Therefore we stand by her in her commitment to the pursuit of truth and efforts to make official state archives available to the public.
Lastly, we would like to draw attention to the fact that the Hague Tribunal made a decision to arrest Florence Hartmann at the moment when it showed weakness with respect to Vojislav Šešelj’s decision not to appear before the court for the pronouncement of the judgment against him and Serbia’s refusal to hand over Šešelj and another three members of the Serbian Radical Party accused of contempt of court for tampering with witnesses, to the ICTY. The Hague Tribunal used to apply the same standards to all accused persons in the past, so it should do so in this case too.
- Aida Kalender, Cultural worker
- Ajla Delkić, The Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Aldin Aranutović, Journalist
- Aleksandar Brezar, Journalist, Translator, Screenwriter
- Aleksandra Letić, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska
- Amila Buturović, University of York
- Ana Knifer, Artist
- Anima NGO, Montenegro
- Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Boris Šiber, Journa
- Borka Pavićević
- Branka Prpa, Historian
- Čedo Prodanović
- Center for Civic Education, Montenegro
- Center for Cultural Decontamination, Serbia
- Center for Monitoring and Research – CeMI, , Montenegro
- Center for Protection of Human Rights and Tolerance, Polimlje, Serbia
- Civic Action, Serbia
- Civic Committee for Human Rights, Croatia
- Civil Rights Defenders
- Cultural center DamaD, Serbia
- Dalibor Tanić, Activist
- Danijela Majstorović, University of Banja Luka
- Danijela Ranković
- Darko Cvijetić, Artist
- Denis Cerić, Photographer HINA
- Denis Lovrović, Photographer, Novi List
- Denis Romac, Vice President of Croatian Journalists’ Association
- Documenta, Croatia
- Dragan Banjac, Journalist
- Edin Ramulić, Activist
- Edo Popović, Writer
- Elma Selman, Artist
- Elmina Kulašić, Activist
- Elvira Mujkić, Activist
- Elvis Kušljugić, Activist
- Eric Gordy, Professor
- Eugen Jakovčić, Centre for Peace Studies
- Faik Ispahiu, producer
- Faruk Šehić, Writer
- Forum for Local and Regional Cooperation – FLORES, Serbia
- Goran Borković, Editor in chief of the portal Forum
- Goran Miletić
- Goran Zorić, Activist
- Gordana Katana, Journalist
- Haris Jusufović, Activist
- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
- Hrvoje Polan, Photographer
- Human Rights Action – HRA, Montenegro
- Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo
- Humanitarian Law Center, Serbia
- Igor Čoko, Editor in chief, Grain
- Ivana Dragičević, Journalist, N1 tv
- Ivana Horvatek, Journalist, Fairpress
- Ivica Đikić, Editor in chief, Novosti
- Jasenka Kapetanović, Activist
- Jasmin Mujanović, University of York
- Jeta Xharra, journalist
- Jim Marshall, Activist and Photographer
- Joël Hubrecht, Revue Esprit
- Ladislav Tomičić, Journalist and editor in chief of portal Lupiga
- Larisa Aganović, Activist
- Larisa Kurtović, Activist
- Larisa Šuša, Activist
- Lejla Bakić, Activist
- Lejla Durmišević – Pašalić, Activist
- Lejla Omeragić – Ćatić, Activist
- Lejla Pašalić, Activist
- Ljilja Spasić, Activist
- Masha Durkalić, Journalist and Activist
- Melisa Skender, Journalist
- Melita Vrsaljko, Journalist, Forum
- Mirko Klarin, Journalist
- Montenegrin Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights
- Mustafa Galijatović
- Nataša Kandić
- Nenad Popović, Writer
- Nerma Jelačić, Commission for International Justice and Accountability
- NGO “Babe”, Croatia
- NGO NOMEN, Montenegro
- Nikola Šolić, Photographer, ex Reuters,
- Nino Bantić, Cameraman AP
- Nora Ahmetaj, Consultant on Transitional Justice
- Peščanik, Serbia
- Refik Hodžić
- Sabina Šabić, Activist
- Sandžak Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, Serbia
- Sanja Despot, Journalist
- Sanja Modrić, Journalist, Novi List
- Sanja Sarvnavka, NGO “Babe”
- Saša Kavić, Camerman Reuters
- Saša Kosanović, Journalist, HRT
- Saša Leković, President of Croatian Journalists’ Association
- SENSE, News Agency
- Sladjana Bukovac, Journalist, HRT
- Slobodanka Poštić
- Snjezana Pavić, Journalist, EPH
- Sonia Bakarić, Journalist, AFP Paris
- Srđan Dvornik, Independent consultant and translator
- Srdjan Šušnica, Culturologist
- Staton Winter, Photographer UN
- Tanja Rudež, Journalist, Jutarnji list
- The Committee for Human Rights, Leskovac, Serbia
- Tija Memišević, Activist
- Tim Clancy, Activist
- Tomislav Jakić, Journalist and former Adviser to Croatian President
- Vladimir Lulić, Vice President of Croatian Journalists’ Association
- Vlatko Čerić
- Vojislav Mazzocco, Journalist, Index
- Vojvodinian Civic Center, Serbia
- Women in Black, Serbia
- Women’s Safe House, Montenegro
- Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Serbia
- Ziyah Gafić, Photographer
- Zlatko Dizdarević
- Zoran Ćatić, Activist
- Zoran Ivančić, Activist
- Zoran Janković, Cameraman AP
- Zoran Kusovac, Journalist
- Zorislav Antun Petrović, APA Journalist, OSCE
- Zrinka Bralo, Activist
- Žarka Radoja, Journalist
- Žarko Puhovski, Professor