(RSF/IFEX) – The following is an RSF press release: 21 July 2000 Reporters sans frontières, tf1.fr and the Beta press agency to cover the trial of Serbian journalist Miroslav Filipovic on 25 and 26 July 2000 On 13 June 2000, Miroslav Filipovic, a correspondent with the independent daily Danas and Agence France-Presse in Kraljevo (central […]
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is an RSF press release:
21 July 2000
Reporters sans frontières, tf1.fr and the Beta press agency to cover the trial of Serbian journalist Miroslav Filipovic on 25 and 26 July 2000
On 13 June 2000, Miroslav Filipovic, a correspondent with the independent daily Danas and Agence France-Presse in Kraljevo (central Serbia), was accused of “espionage in connection with the distribution of false information”. Incarcerated at the military prison in Nis (in the country’s south), he faces a possible fifteen-year prison sentence. His trial will take place in Nis on 25 and 26 July, before a military court.
Having protested to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Former Yugoslavia against Miroslav Filipovic’s placement in preventive detention, and denied a visa to travel to Serbia, Reporters sans frontières is once again taking action to support the journalist.
To demonstrate its support for Miroslav Filipovic, whose immediate release the organisation has requested, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) is offering the possibility to follow the trial live on its Internet site: www.rsf.fr
– Live from Nis, a correspondent with the Beta independent press agency will send regular updates during the two-day trial, which will immediately be posted online.
– Tf1.fr has decided to participate in this initiative. The web site will present regular updates on the ongoing trial, and will also feature regular telephone interviews with the director of the Beta agency. This information will be available through the web site’s home page at www.tf1.fr.
As such, Reporters sans frontières and tf1.fr wish to declare their support for Serbian journalists who practice their profession in extremely difficult conditions, while Serbian authorities try to set up a virtual media “blackout” in the country.
Since the beginning of the year, about fifteen independent media outlets have been closed. Over 200 electronic media outlets are threatened with closure, as they have not had their licences renewed. Arrests of journalists and acts of vandalism are frequent, while the authorities redouble their threats against press representatives. Moreover, some thirty media outlets have been sentenced to pay heavy fines. In the last twenty months, a total sum of 28 million dinars (US$2.4 million, 2.6 million euros) has been paid out in fines.
Arrested in his Kraljevo apartment on 8 May 2000 by members of the security services, Miroslav Filipovic was initially released on 12 May. He was rearrested and jailed ten days later, and his case was transferred to the Nis Military Court. He is accused of writing articles dealing with the activities of the Yugoslav army, which were published on the web site of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), a London-based independent institute. He is also a correspondent of the institute. The journalist had notably gathered the testimony of Yugoslav soldiers condemning Serbs’ behaviour in Kosovo. Miroslav Filipovic is also a regular contributor to the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights.
