19/12/2008: CROATIA – CONTINUOUS PRESSURE EXERTED ON DENIS LATIN – CROATIA

Vienna, 19/12/2008

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned about the continuous pressure exerted on Denis Latin, editor and host of the television programme, “Latinica”, by the management of the Croatian public broadcasting company HRT.

According to information brought to the attention of SEEMO, HRT prohibited Mr. Latin from inviting an investigative journalist on his show. After expressing his disapproval of the decision, Mr. Latin lost an exclusive contract as editor of the programme and was prohibited from making appearances in several other radio and TV programmes in Croatia.

SEEMO has reported about the pressures exerted on Latin in the past. Commenting on this latest incident, Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General, said that HRT’s actions were an undue interference in the editorial process. “SEEMO regards such interference as an attack not only on Croatian investigative journalism, but on freedom of speech in general,” he said.

SEEMO hopes the issue will be resolved to the satisfaction of both sides.

Vienna, 10/12/2008

Slovenian police summoned journalist Biserka Karneza Cerjak in for questioning on 24 November, following criminal defamation allegations made against her by Bojan Srot, mayor of Slovenia’s third largest city and leader of the Slovenian People’s Party (SLS). The allegations, which relate to a May 2008 Reporter magazine item that Srot considers “bombastic,” have been made under article 171 of the Slovenian Criminal Code – the same article former Prime Minister Janez Janša is currently using to pursue charges against Finnish journalist Magnus Berglund. If found guilty, Karneza Cerjak could face up to one year in prison.

“This latest case is another example of how public officials in Slovenia abuse such laws to silence the media,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “When it comes to the handling of defamation, Slovenia is sorely out of step with the rest of the European Union. No journalist should face the possibility of prison for practicing their profession, particularly in a modern democracy such as Slovenia.”

Srot’s complaint related to statements written about him in his position as mayor of Celje in an article dating back to 26 May 2008. In the article, Karneza Cerjak made allegations concerning Srot’s business activities. The police are now investigating the matter.

Although most European Union countries retain some form of criminal defamation legislation, such laws are rarely used, in favour of appeals to domestic press councils or civil proceedings. In the case of Karneza Cerjak, however, Srot bypassed both the Slovenian Journalists’ Court of Honour and any form of civil redress. Mayor Srot has been unavailable for comment on the matter.

The criminal libel investigation into Karneza Cerjak is only the most recent example of criminal defamation measures taken against journalists in Slovenia. In February, a group of Slovenian citizens attempted to bring criminal defamation charges against the journalists who initiated a 2007 petition against government interference in the media, claiming that the petition defamed the nation. In October, then-prime minister Janez Janša filed criminal charges against Finnish journalist Magnus Berglund for alleging his involvement in a corruption scandal. This recent wave of criminal defamation charges in Slovenia comes at around the same time that Slovenia’s new Criminal Code, featuring stricter defamation laws that increase the scope of criminal responsibility, has come into force.

Vienna, 03/11/2008

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), condemns the assault on Makis Nodaros, a local journalist for several media in the region of Ilia (also known as Ileía or Elia ) on the Peloponnesian Peninsula of Greece.

According to information before SEEMO, Nodaros was beaten by two unidentified men at 11 am on 23 October 2008 in his home town of Lechaina (also known as Lechena or Lehena). The men first asked the journalist if he was Makis Nodaros before beating him and attempting to destroy his laptop. The attackers also stole his mobile phone. Nodaros was taken to hospital, treated for injuries to the head, arms and legs, and then released.

In the past, Nodaros, who works for the Athens-based daily Eleftherotypia and the local daily Imera, as well as for the radio stations Radio Gamma and Ionian FM and the television station Teletime, has been the target of several defamation actions. On February 2006, he appeared before a court to face defamation charges stemming from his 11 September 2004 article about the sexual exploitation of a minor. This was only one in a series of trials against Nodaros since 1999 related to his investigative reports on corruption among local authorities.

Nodaros recently published several articles about corruption involving a local politician and the mismanagement of relief efforts for victims of the Greek forest fires in 2007, which destroyed parts of the Peloponnesian peninsula.

Speaking about the assault on Nodaros, SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said, “SEEMO views this attack as an appalling example of how journalists are being targeted for speaking out about problems in local society. SEEMO joins Nodaro’s colleagues in Greece in calling for a full investigation into this incident to find out not only who attacked the journalist, but also the identities of those who ordered the attack.”

Vienna, 24/10/2008

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a regional organisation of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe, and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), strongly condemns the car bombing that killed Ivo Pukanic, journalist and owner of the NCL Media Group in Zagreb, and Niko Franjic, marketing director of the weekly newspaper Nacional, which is published by NCL.

According to information before SEEMO, Pukanic and Franjic were killed, and the two other Nacional employees injured, at 6.20 pm on 23 October 2008, when a car bomb exploded in front of the offices of the NCL Media Group in the centre of the Croatian capital Zagreb.

SEEMO views this bombing as one of the most serious attacks on press freedom in the past years, not just in Croatia, but in the entire South East European region.

Pukanic had in the past repeatedly informed SEEMO about threats he received, starting in 2002. On 9 April of this year, an unidentified assailant carrying a gun with a silencer approached Pukanic on the street in front of his apartment, threatened to kill the journalist, and then shot at him from a distance of several metres. Pukanic fortunately escaped injury at that time.

Pukanic started his career with the weekly Start and, beginning in 1991, worked for the weekly Globus. Hewas the co-founder, in 1995, of the weekly Nacional. Pukanic was named journalist of the year in Croatia in 1999, and received several other awards for investigative reporting, among other achievements. Over the years he built a media company with several regular publications, and last year also opened the NCL Journalism School.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic condemned the killings in the strongest possible terms, noting that he was “alarmed about this heinous crime.” He emphasized that many Croatian journalists were attacked or seriously threatened during the past year, and that Croatian authorities had not yet found those responsible. He said this made it particularly important for “Croatian authorities to initiate a swift and transparent investigation into the incident, and to bring those responsible to justice.”

Vienna, 14/10/2008

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is alarmed at recent restrictions on reporters’ ability to freely carry out their work in Greece.

According to information before SEEMO, four journalists from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia/Republic of Macedonia, Goran Momiroski of A1 TV, Meri Jordanovska of Nova Makedonija newspaper, and two other crew members of A1 TV, were arrested in the afternoon of 13 October 2008 by Greek authorities. The journalists had intended to cover a protest against a disputed army training site and gunfire exercises by the Greek Army in the village of Lofi, near the Greek-Macedonian border.

Despite carrying valid press cards and visas for Greece, the media representatives were detained because they did not have a special filming license and requested to hand over the material they had gathered at the demonstration. After their release, a police escort strongly advised them not to talk to eye witnesses of the protest and eventually escorted them to the border.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic voiced his concern over this “clear infringement of the free movement and freedom of expression of journalists” and hoped “the Greek authorities will adopt strong measures against such interference with media efforts to report on a story of public interest.”

Vienna, 10/10/2008

Zinaida Greceanii

Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova

Valentin Mejinschi
Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova

Government of the Republic of Moldova

1 Piata Marii Adunari Nationale

Casa Guvernului

Chisinau

Moldova

Fax: +373 22 242 696

Your Excellencies,

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), wishes to express its concern at the violence recently perpetrated against media representatives in Moldova.

According to information before SEEMO, in the late evening of 8 October 2008, Mihai Sambra, a cameraman for PRO TV, a television station, was arrested by a police patrol in Chisinau. He was detained, and beaten during the night. Sambra was released the following morning, without receiving any explanation for his arrest. He suffered trauma from the incident, and sustained a broken nose. Other PRO TV staff was reportedly also intimidated by the police while reporting on a trial in Orhei during the morning of 8 October 2008.

SEEMO calls on Your Excellencies to initiate an immediate investigation into these incidents, and to send a strong signal that such violence against the media will not be tolerated.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Vujovic
SEEMO Secretary General

Vienna, 09/10/2008

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), voices its support for proposed amendments forwarded to the Serbian National Parliament on 18 September 2008, altering the Draft Law on Personal Data Protection.

SEEMO particularly welcomes the proposed amendment to remove section 2 of Article 45, which restricts the role of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, who generally acts on behalf of Serbia’s citizens. Under this Article, the Commissioner is prevented from scrutinizing information collected by State representatives for purposes of clarifying whether such information was appropriately collected if State representatives have classified this information as important for national security. Such a restriction on the Commissioner’s oversight capabilities potentially facilitates illegal and uncontrolled activities by State representatives, including against journalists.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic lauded the proposed changes, emphasizing that, “journalists in Serbia are particularly vulnerable to State efforts to access their personal data for inappropriate purposes, and so we welcome this effort to ensure that they are better protected from such activity.”

Vienna, 08/10/2008

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, and its affiliate, the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), condemns efforts by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša to initiate criminal proceedings against Finnish journalist Magnus Berglund in Slovenia.

“This latest development represents yet another unnecessarily aggressive attempt to redress the Finnish media’s handling of the Patria Affair,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “We call on Mr. Janša to drop the threat of criminal proceedings and to pursue his claim in a manner that supports freedom of the press and editorial independence.”

According to information before IPI, on 7 October 2008, Mr. Janša’s attorneys filed a request with the Slovenian state prosecutor’s office, seeking the initiation of criminal charges against Berglund under sections I, II and III of Article 171 of the penal code. These code provisions penalize assertions, circulated through the press, radio, television or other means of public information, which may cause “grave consequences” for the defamed individual. The maximum penalty imposed for such a violation is imprisonment of one year.

The charges stem from the 1 September 2008 broadcast of a segment entitled “The Truth about Patria”, by Finnish public broadcaster YLE, which alleged that members of the Slovenian government, including Mr. Janša, accepted bribes from the Finnish defence contractor Patria. The allegations have been vehemently denied by Mr. Janša. Berglund, a journalist for YLE, authored the report.

Last month, the Slovenian government used diplomatic channels to exert pressure on the Finnish government in response to the broadcast, sending a diplomatic note to the Finnish Embassy in Slovenia warning that the documentary “could shake mutual confidence between the two states”. (See the IPI 11 September statement)

Vienna, 06/10/2008

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned about death threats against several media representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina

According to information before SEEMO, several media representatives from eFM Studentski Radio, Radio Sarajevo, BH Radio and the magazine Dani received death threat letters following media coverage of the “Queer Festival”, which was held in Sarajevo from 24-28 September 2008 and focused on the issues of identity, sexuality and human rights.

Commenting on this incident, SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated, “It is unacceptable that media representatives fall victim to intimidation and harassment simply for doing their jobs.” He further said that “a free media, educating the public and raising awareness of diversity, is an important benchmark for a modern democratic society.”

Vienna, 02/10/2008

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned at several proposed amendments to the Public Service Broadcasting Law of Montenegro. Although the draft amendments are generally in line with international standards on public broadcasting, a number of concerns have been identified.

The Radio Televizija Crna Gora – RTCG (Radio and Television of Montenegro) should be able to decide more freely over the use of their budget, except from funds from the state budget that are earmarked for certain functions, such as minority language programming.

The procedure for appointing members of the governing RTCG Council is problematic, as it does not ensure the independence of the public service broadcaster. Candidates for the RTCG Council are nominated by various institutions, including academic bodies, NGOs, sport organisations, and unions, but Parliament has the final say in deciding the candidate for each position. Since Parliament is responsible for this important decision, which could be influenced by party affiliation, mechanisms that ensure transparency and fairness, such as open hearings and the possibility for members of the public to voice their opinion, are essential. Also the staggering of the tenures of the individual members of the RTCG Council would help to ensure continuity.

According to SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic, “It is essential that the legal framework governing public service broadcasting ensures editorial independence and institutional autonomy. Before adopting the draft law, it would be important to take into account the relevant European and international documents relating to public service broadcasting.”