Vienna, 29/09/2016
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed its approval after learning that an individual who made threats against a journalist was promptly taken into custody.
Croatian journalist Ema Branica recently released a story about a person that was allegedly involved in financial and legal frauds, which was then aired in the Nova TV “Provjereno” show. After this, the individual in question was displeased with their portrayal in the story and started threatening the journalist by saying she will be slapped and spit on, and sending a message to Branica which concluded with the threat that she would “end up like Pukanic”. Ivo Pukanic was a journalist and editor in chief who died by a car bomb several years ago. Following this story, the perpetrator was arrested in Zagreb.
“We appreciate the fast response conducted by Croatian police authorities, and would like to showcase this as a positive example when it comes to reactions to threats against journalists” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said today. “Having state authorities react timely to this type of endangerment is an example of how all cases should be conducted- without delay and with proper penalization of the culprit” Vujovic added.
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.