Authorities in Slavonski Brod, Croatia, are currently investigating an individual suspected of threatening Nikolina Martinović, editor-in-chief of the local online news portal 035portal.hr. In response to these threats, the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) strongly condemned the incident and urged for appropriate measures against the perpetrator.
According to the Croatian Journalist Association HND, the state attorney’s office confirmed receiving a criminal complaint on 15 July 2023, regarding a Croatian citizen who allegedly made threats targeting Nikolina Martinović due to her journalistic work. As a precautionary step, the suspected person has been subjected to measures that include a prohibition from approaching the victim within a 100-meter distance and establishing any contact with her.
The allegedly threatening incident occurred when the suspected person, contacted on 15 July 2023 the newsroom following the publication of a police report on the portal. The suspect demanded the deletion of the news, and upon Martinović’s refusal, he proceeded to make death threats and intimidating remarks.
SEEMO highlighted the significance of such threats as evidence of the challenges faced by journalists, especially in local media, and emphasized the need for adequate sanctions to deter similar incidents in the future.
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non-profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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