(CPJ/IFEX) – According to CPJ, Davor Butkovic and Vlado Vurusic, the former editor-in-chief and a reporter respectively for the independent weekly “Globus”, were convicted and sentenced on charges of criminal libel. Butkovic and Vurusic were sentenced to suspended jail terms of four months and two months respectively for defaming the country’s Defense Ministry. The charges […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – According to CPJ, Davor Butkovic and Vlado Vurusic, the former
editor-in-chief and a reporter respectively for the independent weekly
“Globus”, were convicted and sentenced on charges of criminal libel.
Butkovic and Vurusic were sentenced to suspended jail terms of four months
and two months respectively for defaming the country’s Defense Ministry.
The charges stemmed from an October 1996 article in “Globus” claiming Ivica
Rajic, an indicted war criminal still at large, had been spotted in a motel
in Split, which the Defense Ministry owns. Judge Ranko Marijan ruled that
the report falsely suggested the Ministry of Defense was sheltering Rajic
and was therefore libelous. The sentences are conditional, and will be
applied only if the journalists are convicted and sentenced on any other
criminal charges within the next year.
Background Information
Butkovic has 17 criminal libel cases pending against him, including a suit
brought by 23 Croatian ministers in connection with a September 1997 article
based on a report by an American company alleging rampant corruption at the
highest levels of the Croatian government. The trial in that suit is set to
begin on 20 April 1998 in a Zagreb court. Other independent newspapers,
including “Nacional” and “Feral Tribune”, face dozens of criminal libel
cases. The seditious libel trial stemming from President Franjo Tudjman ‘s
claim that “Feral Tribune” insulted him in an April 1996 article is
scheduled to resume on 15 May 1998 in Zagreb.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
criminal libel charges as a violation of all international norms of press
freedom
intimidating and silencing them, and affirming that there are ample civil
remedies for libel
criminalize criticism and satire of public officials, which contravene all
Croatia’s international commitments to guarantee that journalists may freely
and safely practice their profession
Appeals To
His Excellency Franjo Tudjman
President of Croatia
Fax: +385-1-456-5208
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
