(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 29 August 2000 CPJ press release: CPJ Co-Founds International Committee To Support Imprisoned Serb Journalist New York, August 29, 2000 – In an effort to focus global attention on the plight of jailed Serb journalist Miroslav Filipovic, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has joined with several other international […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 29 August 2000 CPJ press release:
CPJ Co-Founds International Committee To Support Imprisoned Serb Journalist
New York, August 29, 2000 – In an effort to focus global attention on the plight of jailed Serb journalist Miroslav Filipovic, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has joined with several other international press-freedom groups to form the Friends of Filipovic Committee. The new group will pressure Serb authorities to revoke the journalist’s conviction on espionage charges and release him from prison. It will also raise money to support Filipovic and his family.
Other founding members of the Committee are: the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), the Index on Censorship, the Freedom Forum’s European Center, the National Union of Journalists (U.K.), and Reporters Sans Frontières. Several press organizations from Serbia are also associated with the Committee, which is chaired by former BBC war correspondent Martin Bell, an independent member of the British parliament. (For the Friends of Filipovic Committee press release, see www.iwpr.net/index.pl5?archive/bcr/bcr_20000825_fil_1_eng.txt)
On July 26, a Serb military court sentenced Filipovic, a leading Serb investigative journalist with the Belgrade independent daily Danas and a contributor to Agence France-Presse and the London-based IWPR, to seven years in prison on charges of espionage and dissemination of false information. The charges arose from Filipovic’s coverage of atrocities allegedly committed by Yugoslav Army soldiers in Kosovo.
Earlier this month, CPJ nominated Filipovic for the World Association of Newspaper’s Golden Pen of Freedom Award, which is awarded annually to an individual, group, or institution that exhibits an outstanding action, in writing or deed, in the cause of freedom of the press. “[We are] nominating Miroslav Filipovic for his courage and because his case highlights the fate of Serbian journalists who stay true to their profession and in so doing defy their government,” said CPJ’s nominating letter. “Filipovic is facing the consequences of his decision to write the truth, and he and his colleagues deserve support and solidarity from the outside world for their efforts in the cause of press freedom.”
Filipovic’s Sentence Appealed
Both Filipovic’s defense lawyer and the Nis military prosecutor have appealed the journalist’s prison sentence. Filipovic’s attorney argues that the evidence does not support the charges against Filipovic, and has asked the Supreme Military Court in Belgrade to annul the sentence. Meanwhile, the prosecutor has demanded that the sentence be increased by at least two years. The court announced it would consider the appeals during the first week of September.
Filipovic continues to be in poor health. During the past month of his detention, Filipovic has twice been admitted to military hospitals with heart trouble. His family says he needs surgery that is not available in Yugoslavia, according to IWPR.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom around the world.
