Serb nationalist Vojislav Šešelj has been charged with contempt of court by the International War Crimes Tribunal (ICTY) for the third time. The leader of the Serb Radical Party is currently on trial for alleged war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Vojvodina, Serbia between 1991 and 1994.
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By Geraldine Coughlan

The court accuses Seselj of failing to remove confidential information from his personal website. The confidential information published by Vojislav Šešelj on his website included information from three books that he wrote. Also, five confidential filings which he submitted as part of his main trial and two previous trials for contempt of court. The judges said these books and filings reveal confidential information about a number of protected witnesses who testified in his main trial.

Third time
This is the third time that Šešelj has been charged with contempt of the Tribunal. The previous charges relate to two of the three books listed in the latest indictment. In May last year, appeal judges found that Šešelj was guilty of contempt for disclosing the personal details of protected witnesses in a book he
authored. Šešelj was ordered to remove the book from his website. In January this year, judges ordered Šešelj to remove another book from his website. And in February, the court ordered him to remove a third book from his website, saying it contained confidential information relating to protected witnesses.

Rule of law
Judges say that Šešelj has failed to comply with the orders to remove the three books and confidential filings from the public domain. Šešelj will be called to make an initial appearance to enter a plea to the latest contempt charge. The court said it regards "the integrity of witnesses and confidential materials as essential elements in the rule of law." Several people have been prosecuted by the court for attempting to interfere with the judicial process by revealing confidential information.