On 30 May 1996, journalist Bernard Nezmah, a contributor to the weekly “Mladina”, was sentenced to one month in prison and fined under Article 169 of the Civil Code (insulting comments made by the press). However, he was put on parole, so the sentence will not take effect unless he commits a similar offence in […]
On 30 May 1996, journalist Bernard Nezmah, a contributor to the
weekly “Mladina”, was sentenced to one month in prison and fined
under Article 169 of the Civil Code (insulting comments made by
the press). However, he was put on parole, so the sentence will
not take effect unless he commits a similar offence in the
future. In February 1995, Nezmah wrote an article in “Mladina”
that was critical of both the mayor of Ljubljana and the former
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitri Rupel, the latter of whom, a
member of the ruling Liberal-Democratic party, initiated legal
proceedings against Nezmah.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
right to sue a newspaper or journalist for defamation, the
penalty imposed on Bernard Nezmah is out of proportion with the
supposed “crime”
Nezmah could be used as a model for other political figures in
Slovenia to intimidate journalists
occurred in a country where press freedom is respected relative
to the other republics of the former Yugoslavia
Appeals To
His Excellency Milan Kucan
President of the Republic of Slovenia
Fax: +386 61 17 81 356
Please copy appeals to the originator if possible.
