03/10/2012: SERBIA – SEEMO URGES SERBIAN POLICE TO INVESTIGATE LATEST ATTACKS AGAINST JOURNALISTS

Vienna, 03/10/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), urges Serbian police to investigate the latest attacks against journalists, find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

On 29 September 2012, Mladen Mijatovic, a reporter specialised in covering crime for the Belgrade-based TV broadcaster TV Pink found all four of his car tires slashed. Mijatovic had previously received verbal threats and had been physically assaulted. The latest assault occurred in August 2011.

On 22 September 2012, a wedding in Vranje, southern Serbia, degenerated into a massive fist fight. Tanja Jankovic, a journalist with the Belgrade-based broadcaster TV B92, and her family were among the guests. Jankovic was hit in the head while other members of her family suffered concussions and other injuries. It is not clear if the brawl – a police inspector was among the guests – was related to Jankovic’s work as an investigative journalist or was motivated by other reasons. According to Jankovic, only her phone call to Ivica Dacic, Serbia’s prime minister and minister of the interior, prevented a bloodbath.

“In the case of Mijatovic, I call on the police to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic. “In the case of Jankovic, it is important to establish the facts, analyse what happened and bring all those responsible to justice.”

Vienna, 05/10/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), notes with concern that Montenegro’s politicians have stepped up pressure on journalists, ahead of parliamentary elections, scheduled for 14 October 2012. They appear to be lobbying international organisations to ban critical journalists from attending public events.

In August 2012, investigative journalist Miranda Patrucic, who works for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), was invited to speak at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly 81st Rose Roth Seminar, to take place in Sveti Stefan,Montenegro, from 15 to 17 October 2012. Patrucic, the author of the widely publicised article series on irregular banking practices in Montenegro, was invited to speak on the panel: “Strengthening the Rule of Law: Fighting Corruption, Building Integrity.” Seminar organisers even bought her the aeroplane ticket to fly from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Montenegro and she was included in the draft program of the seminar, organised in cooperation with the Parliament of Montenegro.

On 24 September 2012, Patrucic received a phone call from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the Brussels-based organization officially presented as“an essential link between NATO and the parliaments of the NATO nations.” She was told that she had been uninvited and her participation was cancelled. Patrucic was told that a high level Montenegrin politician had intervened in order to cancel her participation. She suggested that her supervisor could substitute for her but he was not welcome either.

SEEMO contacted the NATO Parliamentary Assembly for a comment and received an official statement that reads: “The NATO PA does not, as a matter of policy, comment on the specifics of the invitation process.”

In solidarity with Patrucic, another fellow speaker cancelled her participation. “It’s really silly to talk about integrity at a conference when somebody was disinvited just for being critical of the government,” said Dragana Zarkovic-Obradovic, manager of the Serbiachapter of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).

“I am amazed that an international institution invites and then uninvites a journalist. I am also amazed that Montenegrin politicians go as far as to influence international seminars and ban speakers. Montenegro is about to join the EU and free speech does not seem to be guaranteed, “SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said.

Vienna, 08/10/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), condemns verbal and physical attacks against a journalist in Montenegro. These latest attacks were apparently related to the electoral campaign. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on 14 October 2012.

On 4 October, 2102, Montenegro’s Prime Minister Igor Luksic was speaking at a forum in Pljevlja, northern Montenegro, to a group of followers of the ruling party. Luksic said that there were no independent media in Montenegro, accusing two dailies, Vijesti and Dan, of allying with the opposition. Right after the forum, the Vijesti correspondent from Pljevlja, Goran Malidzan, was verbally attacked and then allegedly punched in the back by a local politician. Former policeman intervened and allegedly told Malidzan: “I shall drink your blood one day.”

Vijesti reporters, as SEEMO has been reporting, have been attacked on numerous occasions. For example, in March 2012, investigative reporter Olivera Lakic was hit several times in the head when entering her apartment. She needed hospitalisation.

“I strongly condemn attacks against journalists. They happen too often in Montenegro. I call on all politicians to stop attacks against media and I urge the police to bring all the perpetrators to justice,” said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic.

Vienna, 11/10/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), has noted an increased number of attacks against sports journalists in Greece.

On 4 October 2012, Antonis Kalkabouras, a reporter with Mega TV, was physically attacked by two individuals after a basketball game between Panathinaikos and Panionios in the Olympic Athletic Center of Athens. The reporter was hit in the head while walking towards his car in the parking lot. One of the attackers allegedly told him not to return to the stadium. Kalkabouras received medical help but he did not require hospitalisation.

On 7 October 2012, Chrysanthos Tsaltidis, a Thessaloniki -based reporter for the Libero sport radio had to interrupt the live broadcast of the soccer match Aris –Platanias because he was attacked by soccer fans. He was not injured and could restart broadcasting.

“I condemn all attacks against journalists and hope that the Greek police will find the perpetrators and bring them to justice, “said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic.

Vienna, 18/10/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), urges Serbian police to investigate the latest attack on a journalist in Serbia.

On 16 October 2012 in the evening, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the house of Damir Dragic, director of the Belgrade-based tabloid daily Informer. Although nobody was injured, the family car was gutted by fire.

“I urge the Serbian police to investigate this and previous assaults on journalists and bring the perpetrators to justice, “said SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic.

Vienna, 25/10/2012

Unknown attackers have launched Molotov cocktails against journalists’ homes in Serbia’s capital Belgrade in two incidents in one week.

At 3.30 on 23 October 2012, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at the terrace of Biljana Vujovic, a presenter with TV Kopernikus. Vujovic, who was lucky to be awake, was able to react quickly and to extinguish the fire that started spreading.

One week earlier, on the evening of 16 October 2012, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at the house of Damir Dragic, director of the Belgrade-based tabloid daily Informer. Although no one was injured, the family car was gutted by fire.

“If police do not find the perpetrators and bring them to justice, it will likely be assumed that attacks against journalists will simply go unpunished, as it has often happened in the past,” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said. “It is worrisome how often these attacks are taking place.”

Vienna, 29/10/2012

On 28 October 2012, Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis expected the police to come and detain him several hours after having published a list of 2,059 names of Greek residents who hold bank accounts at the HSBC bank in Geneva. Vaxevanis published a special issue of his Hot Doc magazine, dedicated to this list.

He was arrested in the northern suburbs of Athens on Sunday, minutes after he had tweeted his whereabouts and challenged police waiting outside to pick him up, according to the Athens News. He was released three hours later and ordered to appear in court on Monday, 29 October. However, the hearing has been deferred to 1 November. Kostas Vaxevanis is expected to be charged for violating personal data.

In 2010, Greek authorities received an alleged list of Greek account holders in the Swiss Bank from the then French Minister of Finance and present Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagard. For two years, according to numerous news accounts, this list circulated from one drawer to another, since several ministers tried to avoid taking action. Finally, Vaxevanis decided to publish the names, arguing official inaction. Media claim that some account holders may be tax dodgers. Apparently, high profile politicians and business people are named.

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), considers that that press freedom, data privacy protection and the right of the public to know have all to be respected. “I call on the court to establish if the list published by Hot Doc is a violation of privacy. At the same time, the court should take into account that the public has the right to know if account holders are also tax dodgers, especially now, when Greeks are expected to endure severe economic cuts,” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said. “As a press freedom organization, we believe that the public has the right to know and that journalists should not be detained. I condemn the detention of Vaxevanis, “Vujovic added.

Vienna, 02/11/2012

Serbian journalists and their families have been targeted in three attacks using explosive devices in less than two weeks.

Following an incident on 30 October, 2012, the Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), said it had observed an escalation of attacks against journalists in Serbia.

In the latest episode, someone placed an explosive device, which did not explode, near the family house of Tanja Jankovic, a journalist with TV B92, in Vranje, in southern Serbia. A little more than a month earlier, Jankovic and members of her family were involved in a brawl with other guests at a wedding. Jankovic was hit in the head. Other family members were injured. It is still not clear if the brawl – a police inspector was among the guests – was related to Jankovic’s work as an investigative journalist or was motivated by other reasons. According to Jankovic, only her phone call to Ivica Dacic, Serbia’s prime minister and minister of the interior, prevented a bloodbath.

On 23 October, someone launched a Molotov cocktail at the terrace of Biljana Vujovic, a presenter with TV Kopernikus, at approximately at 3:30. Vujovic, who was awake at the time, was able to react quickly and to extinguish a fire that started spreading.

One week earlier, on the evening of 16 October 2012, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at the house of Damir Dragic, director of the Belgrade-based tabloid daily Informer. Although no one was injured, the family car was gutted by fire.

The reasons for the three attacks remained unclear today and SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic called on authorities to examine whether the journalists were targeted due to their work.

“I urge the prime minister and minister of the interior, Ivica Dacic, to order an investigation into these and all other outstanding cases of attacks against journalists,” Vujovic said. “It is frankly worrying that journalists lately seem to be the targets of explosive devices on a weekly basis. I do hope that he takes these attacks seriously.”

Vienna, 06/11/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned at Serbia’s draft Law on Fees for the Use of Public Goods, drafted by the Ministry of Finance, whose provisions could undermine the independence of regulatory bodies in electronic communications: the Republic Agency for Electronic Communications (RATEL) and the Republic Broadcasting Agency (RBA).

While the existing laws on broadcasting and electronic communication guarantee the independence of electronic regulators, including financial independence, the draft law proposes that different fees should be channeled to the state budget and then redistributed. This would also apply to the license fees for Serbia’s public broadcasters, Radio Televizija Srbije (RTS) and Radio Television Vojvodina (RTV).

By concentrating all these fees in the state budget, the government or ministries can exert influence on public services and regulatory bodies through the way in which they allocate the budget. Media experts, regulatory bodies and professional associations were not consulted during the elaboration of the draft law.

According to the recommendations of the Council of Europe, which Serbia is obliged to respect as a member of the Council since 2003, public service broadcasters should not be directly financed by the state.

In a separate development, a commission appointed by the Ministry of Justice announced that defamation and libel would remain within the Criminal Code, according to the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS). This implies, the association underlined, that journalists could end up in prison if convicted of defamation.

“I hope that the Ministry of Finance changes the provisions in the draft law which undermines the independence of regulatory bodies and of the public broadcasters,” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said. “I hope that Serbia’s government complies with international standards both in the area of financing as well as regarding the decriminalising of defamation. It is not acceptable that journalists could end up in prison if sued. The civil code should regulate defamation.”

Vienna, 12/11/2012

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), has registered an increase in attacks and pressure on Greek journalists.

“Greek police and courts appear to be slow when investigating and condemning attacks against journalists and extremely fast when detaining media representatives,” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said.

On 4 November 2012, TV Skai journalist Michalis Tezaris was reportedly beaten in Athens while photographing individuals who were attacking immigrants and their property, according to the Athens-based daily Ekathimerini.

On 31 October 2012, authorities detained 75-year old journalist Spiros Karatzaferis, several hours after he appeared on ART TV, a local station in Arta in western Greece, and announced that the hacker group Anonymous had provided him with some 40,000 files taken from the Ministry of Finance that allegedly showed fraud associated with the government’s decision to seek financial bailouts. Karatzaferis – who was arrested on an older, unrelated warrant for criminal libel after he said he would publish the allegedly-compromising information – was later released due to ill health and ordered to pay 24-year old debt to the state, SEEMO learned.

On 29 October 2012, Kostas Arvanitis and Marilena Katsimi, presenters of news-magazine “Morning Information” on the public broadcaster NET TV were suspended until further notice following the conclusion of that day’s edition of the show. They were suspended after they commented on Minister of Citizen Protection Nikos Dendias’ threat to sue British newspaper The Guardian for publishing an article on alleged torture of detained left-wing protesters by police. Several days after The Guardian published the article, Greek doctors issued reports about injuries the protestors suffered that lent support to the allegations.

On 21 September 2012, a special cyber-police squad detained a 27-year old blogger, accusing him of blasphemy. The unnamed man was accused of being behind a satirical Facebook page that poked fun at the cult surrounding Orthodox monk Elder Paisios, who died in 1994. The page contained manipulated photographs that replaced Paisios face with pastitsio, a traditional Greek dish. The prosecutor accused the blogger of blasphemy, but later reformulated the accusation. The blogger is awaiting trial for insulting the divine. In March 2012, Greece increased the punishment for blasphemy.

As SEEMO reported, on 28 October 2012, authorities arrested journalist Costas Vaxevanis and charged him with breach of privacy after he published in his Hot Doc magazine the names of 2,059 Greeks who allegedly hold accounts with HSBC in Switzerland. Vaxevanis said the list he published was the same list given by then-French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to her Greek counterpart in 2010. Greek authorities have faced accusations that they took no action to investigate whether those named in the list, including politicians and businessmen, were evading taxes. Vaxevanis was put on trial within the week and faced at least one year in prison and a fine of €30,000 if found guilty of the misdemeanour charge, but the court acquitted him on 1 November 2012. The case received widespread coverage around the world and generated public protests from both Greek and international press freedom and human rights organizations.