Vienna, 13/11/2017
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed concern after a crew from the Croatian TV station RTL Hrvatska was intimidated by a group of Greek football supporters before a World Cup qualifying match.
As the Greek and Croatian teams were set to play at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Greece, RTL Hrvatska reporter Ana Strizic (Ana Strizić) and a camera operator were harassed by a group of five Greek supporters, who shouted at them “We love Serbs, Serbs are our brothers! We hate Croats”. The group also made threats to damage and destroy their equipment, after which the RTL crew retreated back to the stadium for fear of personal safety.
“We condemn this type of intimidation and hate speech against the RTL Hrvatska media crew by Greek football supporters” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General said today. “We ask that Greek authorities look into this incident, and we call on all individuals who attempt to intimidate journalists to be reported to the authorities and properly penalized” 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.