(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Serbian Information Minister Aleksandar Vucic, RSF protested the heavy fines imposed on the publisher and editor-in-chief of the private daily “Novine Vranjske”. The fines were imposed by Vranjske’s Correctional Tribunal, in southern Serbia, in accordance with the October 1998 Information Law. RSF believes that “this sentence may lead to […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Serbian Information Minister Aleksandar Vucic, RSF protested the heavy fines imposed on the publisher and editor-in-chief of the private daily “Novine Vranjske”. The fines were imposed by Vranjske’s Correctional Tribunal, in southern Serbia, in accordance with the October 1998 Information Law. RSF believes that “this sentence may lead to the daily’s closure, and represents a form of censorship.” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard asked the information minister “to give this incident the attention it deserves, and to do everything in his power to ensure that the newspaper can continue its activities.” RSF also demanded that the Information Law of October 1998 be revised.
On 23 December 1999, “Novine Vranjske”‘s publisher and editor-in-chief, Vukasin Obradovic, were sentenced by Vranjske’s Correctional Tribunal to fines of 600,000 dinars (approx. US$53,250; Euro 60,000) and 200,000 dinars (approx. US$17,750; Euro 20,000), respectively, on the grounds that they did not respect the Information Law. The newspaper had published a Helsinki Committee on Human Rights report about the Albanians who fled Serbia during the NATO bombings and under pressure from the Yugoslav police. According to the Yugoslav army, which filed the complaint, the publication of the report “incites religious and racial hatred on a national scale”. Obradovic stated that the daily did not have the financial resources to pay the fines and that his newspaper might cease publishing.
