30/08/2015: SERBIA – SEEMO EXPRESS SEVERE DISSATISFACTION REGARDING TREATMENT OF JOURNALISTS IN SERBIA

Vienna, 30/08/2015

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was alarmed to learn the details of yet another recent attack on media workers in Serbia.

On the evening of 27 August investigative journalist Ivan Ninic was attacked in front of his building in Belgrade. Ninic was ambushed and brutally assaulted by two young men carrying metal bars. The journalist was left with a contusion under his eye, bruising on his femur, and an injury to the right shoulder. The case was reported to the police.

Ivan Ninic has been an investigative journalist for the last decade, uncovering cases of corruption and crime. Along with several colleagues, Ninic recently established a non-governmental organization that will publish investigative stories on these topics. Ninic believes the attack is connected to his investigative work.

SEEMO would like to stress the importance of a free and safe media environment in Serbia. Conditions that allow journalists to be targeted by threats and physical violence show a clear disinterest in supporting freedom of expression by Serbian institutions and authorities.

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and SEEMO’s 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.

Vienna, 25/08/2015

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was alarmed to hear that a group of journalists and the founder of B92, Veran Matic, were the targets of threats for several days in Serbia.

Several journalists, as well as B92 founder Veran Matic, received threats from unknown sources. The threats said that the journalists, who work for B92, would be “beaten to death”, while Veran Matic was mentioned in the context of “hanging” in the middle of Terazije, a square in Belgrade.

SEEMO’s 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.

Vienna, 23/08/2015

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was gravely concerned by the recent attack on Murat Sancak, Board Chairman of Star Media in Istanbul.

Sancak is a prominent media figure. He and his bodyguard were attacked by unknown assailants while in a car on 20 August. Despite the gunfire, Sancak and his guard escaped without injuries. The incident was reported to the police.

SEEMO recalls a previous attack on Star Media that occurred in July of this year, when a bomb was left in the premises of the media outlet.

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI). SEEMO’s 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.

Vienna, 16/08/2015

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned about the behaviour of a police officer towards a journalist in Serbia.

Predrag Blagojevic, a journalist with the news portal Juzne vesti from Nis, was detained and attacked by a police officer on the night between 15 and 16 August 2015. During the Nishville Jazz Festival, the officer asked the reporter for his identification card (ID). Blagojevic did not have his ID with him at the time, so he offered his press document instead. He attempted to make a phone call to prove his identity, but his mobile phone was immediately confiscated and Blagojevic was arrested. The arresting officer hit the journalist twice on the head while taking him into custody. Blagojevic later obtained medical evidence of his injuries.

“This was a blatant example of an officer overstepping his authority. This type of treatment is completely out of proportion and represents a misuse of force and an endangerment to human rights”, SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated. “We call on the public institutions in Serbia to immediately act by investigating the case”. SEEMO is especially worried, as Blagojević has previously received threats for his reporting.

SEEMO’s 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.

Vienna, 14/08/2015

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned about incidents that occurred in Turkey on 12 August.

Members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) allegedly initiated a terrorist attack in Turkey’s Nusaybin district, during which one police officer was injured and one PKK member killed. Journalists trying to cover the event in front of the hospital were allegedly assaulted by members of the special Turkish operations police. Local footage shows that after trying to take a picture of the injured policeman, special operations officers began shouting at the journalists, calling them militants. The officers opened fire, wounding one journalist and another two people.

SEEMO is concerned for the safety of media workers in Turkey. “It is incomprehensible that members of a state institution can show such disregard in their behaviour and treatment of journalist”, SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated.

SEEMO urges the authorities in Ankara to immediately investigate the case and punish the attackers.

The press freedom work of the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.

Vienna, 14/08/2015

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned about threats against journalists in Serbia.

After Jelena Popadic and Anica Teleskovic, journalists for the daily paper Politika, wrote about the residents of luxurious villas in Belgrade, they received a phone call from an unidentified man who demanded information about the professional qualifications of the journalists and their sources. He added that they will “be schooled” sooner or later.

“Threatening phone calls are usually a gateway to more serious pressures and threats,” warned SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “This is a clear example of a threat towards these two journalists. I ask that authorities in Serbia investigate the case”.

The press freedom work of the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.

Vienna, 13/08/2015

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East and Central Europe, expressed deep concern regarding cases of attacks against media outlets and journalists in Turkey in August.

18 journalists, including Can Dündar, editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, have been indicted for publishing a photo of Istanbul prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz being held at gunpoint in March. Kiraz was killed on 31 March following an eight-hour standoff that began after two members of the forbidden Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) took him hostage in Istanbul’s Courthouse.

Other journalists from dailies Posta, Yurt, Aydınlık, Bugün, Millet, Şok, Özgür Gündem and BirGün were described as suspects in the indictment. The journalists plead not guilty. According to the office of Istanbul Chief Prosecutor, the publication of the photo amounted to “spreading terrorist propaganda”. He has made a request to the court that each of the journalists be jailed for up to seven and a half years.

In June 2015, President Recep Erdoğan personally filed a criminal complaint against Can Dündar requesting that the journalist be jailed. Hours earlier, he said that Dündar would pay a “heavy price” for printing photos of National Intelligence Organization (MİT) trucks allegedly shipping weapons and ammunition to jihadists in Syria.

SEEMO also condemns the Turkish Telecommunications authority (TIB), which blocked access to Dag Medya, a data journalism internet portal. The website publishes articles covering political, social and economic topics. Citing a Turkish law on internet activity, TIB censored all access to the portal without a court order.

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI). SEEMO’s 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.

Vienna, 10/08/2015

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is deeply troubled by assaults on media workers in Croatia that occurred in August.

Photo-journalist Hrvoje Simcevic from the H-Alter web portal was attacked on 5 August in Rijeka. While waiting for a bus to Zagreb, the journalist was harassed at the bus stop by a group of young men. The men were allegedly football hooligans protesting a roundtable that Simcevic was covering called “Women in war”. The attackers allegedly verbally harassed the people waiting at the bus stop, and then attacked persons they recognized as having exited the roundtable.

On the same evening, the president of a photo club called Oko Samobora was attacked by one of the roundtable participants while he was photographing the event. His camera was damaged, and his attacker was identified by the police.

SEEMO expresses full support for the Croatian Journalist Association (HND) and the victims of assaults, and calls on authorities in Croatia to react. “It does not suffice to only identify the culprits. It is also necessary that authorities penalize persons who attack media workers in accordance with the law. Tensions and hate speech are often gateways for increased forms of harassment against journalists, and Croatian institutions need to send a strong message that this behaviour will not go unpunished”, SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated.

Vienna, 31/07/2015

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns a recent attack against Romanian journalists.

A group of journalists was threatened while reporting on a case of gang rape in Vaslui County on 23 July. Individuals were trying to physically attack the media workers, but were stopped when police officers intervened.

SEEMO urges authorities in Romania to initiate a through and transparent investigation of the case.

SEEMO’s 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.

Vienna, 31/07/2015

The South East Europe Media Organisation was alarmed by an attack on a journalist in Montenegro in July.

The company car of Rade Vojvodic, general director of the public broadcaster Radio Televizija Crne Gore (RTCG), was damaged by unknown perpetrators. A check of the vehicle found that the damage could have caused an accident, and is a clear attempt to kill Vojvodic. The case has been reported to the police and the state prosecutor.

“This is a serious attack and we are asking the officials in Montenegro to investigate the case and report as soon as possible about the results of the investigation. We have had many cases of attacks on journalists, including killing of a journalist during recent years in Montenegro. In many cases, the persons responsible for these attacks have not been identified or arrested”, Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General said. “This is a new case, we are really concerned about the response of authorities and the developments in this country”, Vujovic added.

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe. SEEMO’s 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.