(IPI/IFEX) – In a 29 October 2001 letter to Czech Republic Prime Minister Milos Zeman, IPI strongly condemned the recent state harassment of journalists and media in the Czech Republic. According to information gathered by IPI, the weekly magazine “Respekt” has been threatened with a joint lawsuit by the government, acting as a single entity, […]
(IPI/IFEX) – In a 29 October 2001 letter to Czech Republic Prime Minister Milos Zeman, IPI strongly condemned the recent state harassment of journalists and media in the Czech Republic.
According to information gathered by IPI, the weekly magazine “Respekt” has been threatened with a joint lawsuit by the government, acting as a single entity, and its seventeen members, acting individually, for damages amounting to 5.16 million Euros (approx. $US 4.67 million), a sum that may force “Respekt” to declare itself insolvent. On 22 October, the prime minister was widely quoted as stating that the libel suits were necessary “in order to make sure that ‘Respekt’ finally ceases to exist.”
In its latest issue the magazine reportedly accused the government of failing to deliver on its promise to fight corruption in the Czech Republic. The article was based on information from Transparency International which recently published its annual report estimating that the present level of corruption in the Czech Republic was the third highest among the former communist European countries.
In an unrelated case, Frantisek Zamecnik, the former editor-in-chief of “Nove Bruntalsko”, was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment for having libeled the former mayor of Bruntal, Petr Krejci, Social Democratic Deputy Jaroslav Palas and the editor of a local rival newspaper, Ludmila Navarova, in articles published between September 1988 and December 1999. Zamecnik is likely to appeal the decision. The present editor-in-chief of “Nove Bruntalsko”, David Pecha, is also being threatened with a jail sentence for “calling for the violent overthrow of the present political system” (see IFEX alert of 7 September 2001).
With regard to the above, IPI considers the incarceration of journalists as a serious infringement of basic human rights and regards this restriction on journalists as a gross violation of everyone’s right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” as guaranteed by Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Finally, IPI strongly opposes exorbitant fines, such as the one sought against “Respekt”, which are clearly designed to exhaust the media organisation’s finances. The media plays an integral role within any democratic society and provides a forum for open debate; furthermore, its position as a watchdog guards against the misuse of power.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the prime minister:
– calling upon him to ensure that Zamecnik’s sentence is overturned immediately and unconditionally
– noting that libel should be dealt with by the civil law and all criminal penalties should be removed from the statute books of the Czech Republic
– calling for the criminal charges against Pecha to be withdrawn
– urging him to ensure that journalists reporting on events in the Czech Republic are allowed to carry out their profession without further harassment
Appeals To
His Excellency Milos Zeman
Prime Minister
Prague, The Czech Republic
Fax: +4202 2481 0231
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
