The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted Florence Hartmann of contempt of court for quoting confidential court documents in her publications.

The September 14th ruling ordered Hartmann – a former spokesperson for ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte – to pay a fine of 7,000 euros.

Hartman accused ICTY judges of keeping important evidence against Serbia from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) when it was deliberating a genocide complaint against Belgrade. She claimed the documents could have influenced the ICJ’s decision to clear Serbia of genocide in Bosnia.

Moloto said that Hartmann's actions could deter states from cooperating with the tribunal where the provision of evidentiary material is concerned.

Plavsic to be released
The Yugoslavia tribunal has granted a request for the early release of former Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic who is serving an 11-year sentence for war crimes.

Plavsic was convicted in 2003 of persecuting Bosnian Muslims in the 1992-95 Bosnian war and is serving her sentence in Sweden. By October 24th, she will have served two-thirds of her sentence, making her eligible for parole under Swedish law.

Judge Patrick Robinson said that Plavsic should be granted early release, "notwithstanding the gravity of her crimes."

Plavsic pleaded guilty to persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds by "inviting paramilitaries from Serbia to assist Bosnian Serb forces in effecting ethnic separation by force". As part of the plea bargain, charges of genocide, extermination and murder were dropped from her indictment.

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