Vienna, 14/05/2017
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was deeply concerned after it was revealed that on 12 May a local politican in Pozega, a town in Croatia, physically attacked a media worker with the intention to do him harm.
The local politican invited Mladen Mirkovic (Mladen Mirković), a journalist from local portal 034portal.hr, to his office for a meeting, prior to a press conference that was to be held nearby. When Mirkovic arrived, the politican began inquiring about who wrote a specific article published on their website. When Mirkovic responded that he wasn’t the author of the articles in question, the politician began to attack the journalist, pushing the journalist against the wall and hitting him. The journalist ran out of the office.
Following the incident Mirkovic received medical treatment for shock and injuries.
SEEMO condemns this attack, and call not only on the official in question, but also institutions in Croatia to react and investigate the case.
SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and its press freedom work is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.