On occasion of the prosecution of journalist Florence Hartmann, human rights organizations from the ex Yugoslav countries reminded in the joint public statement, that the content of such orders was a subject of numerous newspaper reports and public debates after the verdict of International Court of Justice regarding the appeal of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia in February 2007, and that is not very clear why Florence Hartmann has been convicted.

In that time, human rights organizations in the whole ex Yugoslav region openly discussed about the case where The Hague Tribunal did not hand over the protocol of Supreme Council of Defense of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (VSO SRJ) to International Court of Justice (MPS) and why MPS did not ask for those documents from Serbia in the process of decision-making regarding the appeal of B&H against Serbia for genocide. Human rights organizations very severely criticized the verdict of The Hague Tribunal to accept the appeal of Serbia for darkening certain parts of the protocol of VSO SRJ as well as decision of MPS nt to ask for the protocol from Serbia with explanation that they dispose with sufficient information for decision-making.

Human rights organization from Serbia asked from the Government of Serbia to publish the protocol of VSO and this, end already disseminated doubts that it hid the proves about its responsibility for the genocide in B&H. He governemnt has not done such thing yet, though. The serious doubt has emerged regarding the thesis that The Hague Tribunal, by verdict of measures of protection for protocols of VSO and MPS and by indifference to collect sufficient proves, protected Serbia from possible responsibility for participation on the genocide in Srebrenica.

Human rights organizations from the region of ex Yugoslavia ask from Serbia to disaffirm its measures of protection and thus, remove the doubt of public that darkened parts of the VSO protocol hide the facts about responsibility of Serbia in execution of genocide in Srebrenica.

Human rights organizations demand from The Hague Tribunal to clear the verdict on acceptance of the appeal of Serbia to darken parts of the protocol, and thus remove the doubt that those verdicts of The Hague Tribunal confidential in order to hide from public the facts that The Hague Tribunal had given Serbia the protection from the responsibility for genocide in Srebrenica.

According to that, the prosecution of Florence Hartmann needs to be public and available for human rights organizations’monitoring.

As of 2000 Florence Hartmann was spokesperson of Carla Del Ponte, former Chief Prosecutor with the Hague Tribunal. Six years later she left the post and published a book entitled “Peace and Punishment”. In an earlier interview Hartmann told Bosnian media that her book presented a segment of the Tribunal’s work, which was not on record.The Hague Tribunal considers that the former spokesperson of the Prosecution, Florence Hartmann, authored a text published in 2007 and 2008 that disclosed information relating to confidential decisions of the Tribunal’s Appeals Chamber in the case of Slobodan Milosevic.

Documents:

  • Joint Statement

    Public statement against the prosecution of Florence Hartmann (in Bosnian).