December 14, 2005

14/12/2005: CROATIA – DEATH THREAT AGAINST THE EDITOR OF THE CROATIAN WEEKLY, FERAL TRIBUNE

Vienna, 14/12/2005

To:

Ivo Sanader

Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia

Ivica Kirin

Minister of Interior Affairs of the Republic of Croatia

Zagreb, Croatia

Your Excellency,

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is deeply concerned about the recent death threat against the editor of the Croatian weekly, Feral Tribune.

According to information before SEEMO, on 6 December, Drago Hedl, the editor of the Croatian weekly, Feral Tribune, received a death threat in the form of a letter. Hedl said that the letter was directed at him and his source for the series of articles he published in Feral Tribune on the torture and killings of Serbian civilians in Osijek in 1991.This is not the first time that Hedl has received a death threat.

SEEMO asks your Excellency to do everything in your power to urgently investigate this threat and to take all necessary steps to protect the life of Drago Hedl. We would like to remind Your Excellencies that a safe working environment for journalists is a fundamental principle in every democratic society.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Vujovic

SEEMO Secretary General