ZAGREB, February 18, 2019 - The Croatian PEN Centre on Monday objected in the strongest terms the introduction of criminalisation of speech and a prison sentence handed down against Zoran Erceg for something he said.

The Croatian P.E.N. Centre is a nongovernmental organization founded in 1927 as one of the first member-centres of the International PEN, the world association of poets, novelists, essayists, playwrights, screenwriters, historians, critics, translators, editors and journalists sharing the same belief that writers can play a crucial role both in changing and developing civil society.

Denying someone their right to a political opinion encroaches upon a fundamental democratic right, P.E.N. said in a press release.

The Zagreb Misdemeanour Court on Wednesday handed down a conditional prison sentence of 15 days against activist Zoran Erceg for disturbing the public order at a ceremony on December 10 at which a monument to Croatia's first president Franjo Tuđman was unveiled. At the ceremony, which was attended by the entire state leadership, Erceg shouted, among other things, that Tudjman had destroyed Croatia and was a war criminal.

The Croatian PEN. Centre is worried about a growing number of court rulings against journalists who have been sued for damages, citing the recent case of author and journalist Jurica Pavičić, as well as lawsuits filed by Croatian Radio Television against its own journalists and the Croatian Journalists' Association.

A court in Split last week ruled that Jutarnji List journalist Jurica Pavičić must pay 50,000 kuna in damages to a former director of the Split-based Croatian National Theatre, Duško Mucalo, for infringement of personality rights with a series of his articles about his term at the helm of the said theatre.

The PEN Centre said that pressure exerted by politicians and political parties on freedom of expression, such as the persecution of and calling for violence against Jutarnji List reporter Željka Godec, who in her article cited facts from the State Audit Office's findings, was unacceptable.

More news about media freedom in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 9, 2019 - The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will raise the issue of Croatian public broadcaster HRT lawsuits against journalists at a meeting of partners in social dialogue between the audiovisual sector and the European Union, the Croatian Journalists Association (HND) said on Saturday.

The EFJ says in its February newsletter that secretary general Ricardo Gutierrez attended a round table in Zagreb a few days ago called "Journalist before the courts", organised by the HND. The topic was intimidation of journalists and media with lawsuits and lack of independence on the HRT.

The EFJ informs its members that the HRT management has brought 33 lawsuits against journalists, including HND president Hrvoje Zovko and the president of the HND's branch on the HRT, Sanja Mikleušević Pavić, the HND said, adding that the EFJ once again called on the HRT to drop the lawsuits.

More news on the media freedom in Croatia can be found in the Politics section

ZAGREB, February 7, 2019 - Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said on Thursday the Croatian media were independent, press freedoms guaranteed, and that the government did not exert pressure on the media.

She was asked by the press ahead of a cabinet meeting to comment on European Federation of Journalists secretary general Ricardo Gutierrez's statement that the situation in Croatia with regard to political influence on the media was the worst in the European Union.

"I think that's not true. You work, you know you are independent, that press freedoms are guaranteed in Croatia," the minister said, adding that "the phenomenon of lawsuits against journalists and media is not in the remit of media legislation... and it should be discussed."

"We absolutely stand by the basic media legislation postulates. The media are independent and neither the government nor anyone from the government is exerting pressure on the media."

She dismissed a journalist's remark that Croatia was falling in international rankings by the year and that the situation was deteriorating, saying the data differed and that there were no such pressures in Croatia. "We will work on enhancing media legislation together with associations and other partners."

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković rejected claims that there was no freedom in Croatia, when asked to comment on claims by the Croatian Journalists' Association suggesting that there were over 1,000 court cases against journalists and the media in the country.

"To say today that there is no media freedom in Croatia means that the person making this claim is neither reading the papers, listening to the radio nor watching TV," Plenković said.

The prime minister stressed that according to Freedom House, Croatia was a free country with free media and free media ownership structure.

Stressing that Croatia's Penal Code envisages a possibility of defamation, slander and libel suits, Plenković said that according to information he received from the justice minister, 85% if such cases end with an acquittal.

More news on the media freedom in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 6, 2019 - Croatian journalists and media outlets are currently facing over a thousand lawsuits, a round table was told in Zagreb on Wednesday. Panellists at the round table, entitled "Journalism in Court", warned of frequent civil and criminal actions being brought against the media to intimidate critical journalism.

The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) circulated a questionnaire on lawsuits to 90 media outlets and received answers from 18 of them which are currently facing 1,163 lawsuits. Publications by the Hanza Media and Styria groups are most frequently the targets of claimants.

It was assessed as particularly worrying that the HRT public broadcasting service, which is financed with public money and is supposed to promote freedom of speech, had brought 33 lawsuits against their own and other journalists, media outlets and the HND over their critical reports on the HRT, demanding 2.17 million kuna (293,000 euro) in damages.

"A public media organisation which is supposed to protect media freedoms has become the main actor in silencing journalists," HND vice-president Slavica Lukić said.

HND president Hrvoje Zovko warned of the problem of damages being sought from media outlets, a problem faced by the media since the 1990s. He said he held Prime Minister Andrej Plenković responsible for the situation at the HRT because he tolerated such behaviour, and called on the HRT to drop all charges against journalists and media organisations.

The secretary general of the European Federation of Journalists, Ricardo Gutierrez, said that the problem of the HRT had been acknowledged by European media experts as well.

More news on the journalism in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

On Saturday, the Živi Zid political party used a paid advertisement on the Facebook social network to launch an attack on Jutarnji List’s journalist Željka Godeč. In the Saturday edition of Jutarnji list, she published the article "Financial Holes in Živi Zid", an extensive analysis of Živi Zid’s finances, which showed that the party did not spend its money in a transparent way. The report was corroborated with documents and a State Audit report. The State Audit confirmed to Godeč that the documents had been forwarded to the competent State Attorney's Office for further investigation, reports Jutarnji List on January 28, 2019.

Not long after the publication of the article, Živi Zid launched a blistering attack. On Facebook, the party paid for an ad featuring a photo of journalist Željka Godeč with the inscription “Expert for False News – hanzamedia,” adding the #fakenews hashtag with the Jutarnji List logo. Hanza Media is the publisher of Jutarnji List.

In a shameful ad that looks like a call for the lynching of the journalist, the party attacked her on a professional and personal level. The ad says that "for years, she has been systematically trolling against Živi Zid, writing half-truths, drawing conclusions that do have nothing to do with the facts, constructing theories which are a lie, but doing it in the form of questions so that she cannot be sued.” The ad ends with a question: "What do you think, is she manipulating the facts because she is illiterate? Or simply evil?"

Given that Živi Zid bases its popularity in large part on social networks, the ad has reached a large number of people. It quickly spread among Živi Zid followers. Particularly worrisome is the fact that a couple of hundred comments, many of which are full of hate speech, have been added to the post.

This is an unprecedented act and an attack on the media that no political party has ever dared to launch in Croatia. “This is an inappropriate way of communication and an open call for the lynching of the journalist. We strongly condemn this kind of behaviour,” said Jutarnji list editor-in-chief Goran Ogurlić.

The article alleges that the State Audit report on the party’s finances is full of allegations about irregularities, suspicious payments, unsubstantiated travel expenses, payments for intellectual services without documentation and proper records.

The party’s seat is located at the same address where one of its politician, Ivan Pernar, lives. In the first six months of 2017, the party paid 150,000 kuna for consultancy costs, 53,750 kuna for lawyers and 25,000 kuna for accounting services. However, according to auditors, “there are no specifications for the services provided, no description of the type of service provided, and the period when they were provided.”

According to the State Audit report, the party is mainly using cash transactions. Payments were made in the amount of 170,854 kuna, referring to material costs, hospitality, fuel costs and official travel. However, it is not clear to whom the money was paid, and the recipients have not signed the receipts. And there are no enclosed documents that could be used to confirm that the business events really took place.

More news on Živi Zid, the third (or occasionally second) most popular party in Croatia, can be found in the Politics section.

Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Tomislav Kukec).

ZAGREB, January 24, 2019 - The parliamentary media committee on Wednesday unanimously adopted a conclusion urging both the public broadcasting service Croatian Radio and Television (HRT), which sued some of its journalists, and the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) to solve their dispute by agreement.

The committee's conclusion reads that freedom of speech is a constitutional value and that a free press is a pillar of democracy and an important democratic safeguard.

The discussion on the HRT lawsuits was tabled by six opposition lawmakers after in late 2018 the HRT sued the HND and HRT journalists for 500,000 kuna in damages over their public statements. The public broadcaster claimed damages for "gross violations of reputation, honour and name."

One of the suits was filed over a statement by the HND's HRT branch of September 11 in which its journalists distanced themselves from scandals on the HRT at the time, including the sale of FIFA World Cup tickets. The HRT management demands 200,000 kuna in damages from the HND and 50,000 kuna from the president of the HND's HRT branch, Sanja Mikleušević Pavić.

The opposition lawmakers consider the lawsuits as a form of pressure on reporters.

Furthermore, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have called on the HRT management to withdraw recent lawsuits against the HND, its president Hrvoje Zovko and the president of the HND branch at the HRT, Mikleušević Pavić, the HND said on Wednesday.

The HRT director-general Kazimir Bačić said today that the broadcaster was ready to drop the lawsuits if the defendants withdrew their claims about censorship in the national broadcasting company.

Bačić went on to say that censorship is a criminal offence and being the HRT director-general he was obliged to file a lawsuit to protect the HRT against false accusations.

The HRT has not lodged the lawsuits against reporters but against individuals, he insisted.

More news on the freedom of media in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 23, 2019 - The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have called on the management of Croatian public broadcaster HRT to withdraw recent lawsuits against the Croatian Journalists Association (HND), its president Hrvoje Zovko and the president of the HND branch at the HRT, Sanja Mikleušević Pavić, the HND said on Wednesday.

The HND recalled that between Christmas and New Year the management filed lawsuits against the HND, Zovko and Mikleušević Pavić for alleged criminal acts against the HRT's honour and reputation, seeking 500,000 kuna in damages.

According to the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa NGO, journalists in Croatia are being sued for defamation with increasing frequency, including about 20 suits filed in the last few months against eight media. "It's a clear example of censorship," the HND said.

The IFJ and EFJ have joined the Western Balkan's Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists' Safety in asking the HRT to withdraw the lawsuits as soon as possible. “Managers of HRT should stop pressuring HND... and harassing representatives of the journalists’ association,” IFJ secretary-general Anthony Bellanger has said.

EFJ secretary-general Ricardo Gutiérrez has reminded Croatian authorities that a recent European Union report on media pluralism in Croatia pointed out the "politicised appointments and dismissals in the public service broadcaster HRT".

The report also mentions the "systematic political interference" in HRT management appointment procedures. "The dismissed Supervisory Committee submitted a 2016 report to the Parliament in which it exposed many irregularities in the management of the public service media. The report displays the state of the serious management crisis," the HND said.

More news on the Croatian Radio Television can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, January 22, 2018 - The European Union's foreign ministers on Monday discussed an action plan to tackle fake news in the context of perceiving fake news as a challenge in the run-up to the forthcoming European Parliament elections, and Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić said that there were some in Croatia who resorted to fake news in a bid to win a seat in the European Parliament.

"In the context of preparations for countering fake news and in connection with the forthcoming EP elections, it is obvious that the election campaign has already been launched in Croatia and that there are some who use fake news in an attempt to win a seat in the European Parliament," Pejčinović Burić said in Brussels, answering questions from the press.

She also believes that the recent developments and debates in the Croatian parliament should be perceived in that context.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council focused its debate on the prevention of fake news and the influence of third countries on east and southeast Europe and on the EU's southern neighbours, as well as on the EU member-states.

The action plan outlined by the European Commission in December revolves around the exposure of citizens to large scale disinformation, including misleading or outright false information.

The Commission has engaged with all stakeholders to define a clear, comprehensive and broad-based action plan to tackle the spread and impact of online disinformation in Europe and ensure the protection of European values and democratic systems.

"The European Union has outlined an action plan to step up efforts to counter disinformation in Europe and beyond focusing on four key areas. This plan serves to build EU's capabilities and strengthen cooperation between member states by improving detection, having a coordinated response to threats, collaboration with online platforms and industry as well as raising awareness and empowering citizens," according to information on the EC's website.

The Croatian minister said that by March, the EU member-states are supposed to set up national contact points for the exchange of important information.

In the medium- and long-run it is essential to raise awareness of the existence of fake news and to enhance media culture and ways to interpret information and verify it, she added, calling for a broad struggle against this phenomenon.

More news on the elections for the European Parliament in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

Croatia will be more actively involved in the fight against fake news whose purpose is to fool the public. Among other things, the government plans to create a national contact point whose task will be to warn other EU members about deliberately disseminated disinformation in real-time through a rapid alert system which should be launched in March, ahead of European elections, reports Večernji List on January 21, 2019.

The contact point and the rapid alert system are part of the European Commission's action plan. The main reason is the European elections in May, but also the trend that fake news and misinformation, often associated with populist movements, are ruining the confidence of citizens in institutions.

“Croatia supports the adoption of the action plan against disinformation because a coordinated European response needs to be provided against this challenge and threat, especially in the light of European elections, but also in the long run,” said the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Decisions on further steps will be taken in coordination and cooperation with EU partners.

Data from the Eurobarometer survey from March last year showed that Croatians read fake news more than the EU average. As much as 47% of respondents from Croatia said they believe they face fake news every day, while 29% thought that they find misinformation at least once a week. This is more than the EU average with 37% of respondents believing they are exposed to disinformation on a daily basis. More than 40% of Croatian respondents said that false news is a real problem for Croatia, but also democracy in general. The survey showed that Internet media had the lowest credibility, as opposed to radio, television and print media.

“In 2017, Croatia adopted the National Security Strategy and the Law on the Homeland Security System. The homeland security system has been established, which recognises new security challenges and risks, as well as hybrid action, including disinformation. It recognises the importance of coordinated action of all components of the homeland security system in Croatia in response to contemporary security threats and risks,” explained the Ministry.

The action plan, which will be discussed today at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, focuses on four areas. “The implementation should bring about the strengthening of citizens’ confidence in institutions at the national and EU levels, and strengthening of responses against the disinformation campaigns aimed at destabilising democratic systems and processes, promoting populism and reducing the reputation of the EU,” said the sources.

When it comes to the sources of disinformation in the EU, the finger is most often pointed towards Russia. In 2017, Croatia sent a letter to EU High Representative Federica Mogherini calling for the strengthening of the struggle against Russian propaganda. The European External Action Service (EEAS), headed by Mogherini, has already established a working group within StratCom (Strategic Communication) focusing on the eastern neighbourhood (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova) in 2015, but Croatia was not interested in this project at the time. In addition to pro-Russian sources, the European Commission has also named another source of disinformation. The European Council heard that some prime ministers are contributing to the spread of false news, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban and his statements about Brexit and migrants.

More news on the media in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Sandra Veljković).

ZAGREB, January 10, 2019 - At its meeting on Thursday, the government recommended to parliament to adopt the annual reports on the work of the Electronic Media Council and Agency and the report on the operation of the Croatian Broadcasting Corporation (HRT).

Speaking of the work of the Electronic Media Council in 2017, Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said that it had issued 44 sanctions, including 36 warnings and eight cautions.

The Electronic Media Agency made a great contribution to efforts to reduce hate speech in the public sphere by raising public awareness and encouraging pluralism. The agency continued promoting media literacy via the medijskapismenost.hr website by participating in and conducting research on the media habits of children and parents, working on new projects and bringing together participants in media literacy projects.

As for the recent wave of lawsuits against journalists and editors, the minister proposed establishing a Media Council to reduce the pressure on the media.

Speaking of the public broadcaster HRT, Obuljen Koržinek said that the company had generated a profit of 100 million kuna (13.5 million euro) in 2017, most of which had been used to improve its business and cover the losses from the previous period. However, the loss carried over at the end of 2017 was still high, reaching 549.6 million kuna (74.2 million euro).

Business results indicate that certain progress has been made, as seen in the increased profit, but the focus should continue to be on reducing labour costs so that more money can be directed at production, she added.

In 2017, the government and the HRT concluded a new five-year agreement.

More news on the media in Croatia can be found in our Politics section.