**Updates IFEX alerts of 15, 12 and 10 May 2000** (CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 22 May 2000 CPJ press release: New York, May 22, 2000 — A leading Serbian investigative journalist, Miroslav Filipovic, was imprisoned again today, following a hearing at a military court in Nis in southern Serbia. Filipovic was interrogated for […]
**Updates IFEX alerts of 15, 12 and 10 May 2000**
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 22 May 2000 CPJ press release:
New York, May 22, 2000 — A leading Serbian investigative journalist, Miroslav Filipovic, was imprisoned again today, following a hearing at a military court in Nis in southern Serbia. Filipovic was interrogated for four hours, according to local sources, after which military prosecutors announced that they were launching a judicial inquiry. Filipovic’s lawyers, Goran Draganic and Zoran Ateljevic, are banned from speaking about the case, and it is unclear what charges may have been filed against their client at today’s hearing. CPJ sources in Belgrade said Filipovic could be detained for up to 30 days while court investigations are conducted. The next hearing is set for 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday, May 24.
Filipovic was arrested May 8 in his hometown of Kraljevo in central Serbia. Three days later, the Nis military court charged him with espionage and spreading false information. He was released from prison May 12, however, when military authorities decided not to proceed with the investigation because they had been unable to collect sufficient evidence of espionage within the 48 hours stipulated by Serbian law.
Upon his release, Filipovic reported that he had been accused of “collecting data important for the country’s defence and providing them to a foreign organization which does intelligence work,” namely the London-based Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR). According to the IWPR, the articles were based on Filipovic’s investigative reporting about sensitive topics such as Serbian atrocities in Kosovo and Serbia’s relations with Montenegro.
Under Serbian law, the penalty for espionage is a prison sentence of up to 15 years. If convicted on charges of “spreading false information'” Filipovic could face devastating fines. In addition to his contributions to the IWPR, Filipovic writes for Agence France-Presse and is a correspondent for the independent Belgrade daily Danas.
“CPJ joins other press freedom organizations from around the world in condemning this unjust hounding of a professional journalist,” said CPJ Europe program coordinator Emma Gray. “We believe that Miroslav Filipovic is being persecuted for doing his job, and we demand that the Serbian authorities immediately withdraw the charges against him.”
