ZAGREB, Sept 14, 2020 - HND protests against the Constitutional Court's decision not to allow reporters to attend its session discussing decisions of the national COVID-19 response team.
"The Croatian Journalist Association strongly protests against the Constitutional Court's decision which prevents media from covering its session focusing on the lawfulness of decisions made by the national COVID-19 response team on epidemiological measures during the coronavirus pandemic," the umbrella journalists' association said in a statement.
It noted that the court's decision was contrary to democratic standards, media freedoms, and the right of the public to be informed of all court decisions, notably the latest one.
Earlier in the day, the Constitutional Court decided that its session discussing the legality of measures introduced to fight the coronavirus epidemic would not be attended by media representatives.
Court secretary-general Teodor Antic said that once the court made a decision, it would issue a statement, and once its decision was published and sent to the parties that had put forward the proposal for a public debate, the court president would hold a news conference.
The HND said it did not believe the Constitutional Court's promise that all questions from the press would be answered fully and in a timely manner, noting that preventing reporters from following the court session "leaves one with a strong impression that the Constitutional Court is hiding something from reporters and the public."
"And all of that is happening in an EU country which until recently chaired the EU," the HND said.
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