November 24, 2022 - Last week's hearing in the ongoing lawsuits against TCN CEO Paul Bradbury from the Croatian National Tourist Board included two witness cross-examinations. One shared his thoughts about the experience on LinkedIn.
The first comment I saw on a thread about the trial from Zoran Pejovic was 'Kafkaesque.'
Zoran and I have known each other for a decade and he is what I consider to be one of the true tourism visionaries in this country, particularly in the luxury tourism sector. It was no surprise that he also appeared in the article in the Croatian media which led to me getting the first lawsuit of my life. Even though I didn't write the article, don't own the portal which published it, there was no request for a retraction, and the article is still live in its original format. You can read it (with Google Translate) here.
Zoran wasn't sued for his comments in the article (indeed, it turns out that the only journalist/blogger that the Croatian National Tourist Board sued in 2020 was me - twice), but he was called as a witness. And so he got up at 04:00 to take the first flight from Split to Zagreb, flying back immediately after the hearing. Another waste of time and resources in this 2.5 year saga.
Zoran was excellent during his first-ever appearance on the witness stand, and he took to LinkedIn to share his thoughts once back in Split.
You can read his post in full below, but for those less familiar with the case, you can read the latest instalment of the saga and a look at last week's heaing in Diary of a Croatian Lawsuit: Irish Newspapers & Belgian Radio.
You can read the full official transcript of last week's hearring here.
Over to Zoran:
The curious (court) case of Paul Bradbury
It was early June 2020. My phone rang and the voice on the other side of the line introduced herself as a journalist for Index.hr, Croatia's leading online news portal. She said that she was writing an article on the preparedness of Croatia for the summer tourism season and asked if I would comment on the perception of Croatia in the international travel trade and travel media, given the uncertainties we were facing in those early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Long story short, I had shared my take on the situation that the international travel trade and travel media did not have clarity and understanding of Croatia's Covid rules and border restrictions and that the national tourist board was failing to communicate news and updates clearly.
The article was published on June 12, 2020, and I didn't make much of that, other than finding out that the other contributor to the article was Paul Bradbury, award-winning journalist, and owner of Total Croatia News.
This entire story would have been quickly confined to the forgotten corners of the internet if it was not for a call I received about a year later from Paul Bradbury informing me that he is being sued by Croatian National Tourist Board for the thoughts he expressed in the article we have both contributed to. I was baffled beyond belief. He inquired if I was being sued as well. I wasn't.
Fast forward to today. This morning I took an early morning flight to Zagreb where I was summoned by the court as the witness in the case of Croatian National Tourist Board vs Paul Bradbury. Zagreb was foggy and wet, and the chilling morning breeze was only adding to the slightly unnerving feeling one gets when faced with a court proceeding that could be described only as Kafkaesque. I took the stand and recollected the days of early Covid for the court.
There was not much new to be sad about those days, but as I was standing there I came to a personal realization. Ever since I learned of the case against Paul I have reduced my Croatian media appearances. Several times I was asked to comment on some of the ongoing challenges of Croatian tourism and I politely declined. It only today dawned on me that I chose the path of lesser exposure to stay out of the limelight and avoid similar litigations, regardless of how pointless and ultimately unsuccessful they tend to be.
Perhaps they never aimed for victory in court.
You can follow Zoran Pejovic on LinkedIn.
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You can follow the latest in Diary of a Croatian Lawsuit, including Judgment Day on January 13, 2023 in the dedicated TCN section.
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What is it like to live in Croatia? An expat for 20 years, you can follow my series, 20 Ways Croatia Changed Me in 20 Years, starting at the beginning - Business and Dalmatia.
Follow Paul Bradbury on LinkedIn.
Croatia, a Survival Kit for Foreigners is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.
