Croatian journalists calling the authorities to end impunity
As a follow-up to the case of Željko Peratović, a freelance journalist and blogger who has been attacked at his home on May 28, 2015 in an attempted murder, the Croatian Journalists’ Association (Hrvatsko Novinarsko Drustvo, an EFJ-IFJ affiliate) is reminding the authorities with several cases of death threats and attacks on journalists which are still not resolved.
“It is one year since freelancer Domagoj Margetić has been beaten up in front of his apartment in Zagreb. The Croatian State Attorney defined that attack as attempted murder but not the attacker or motifs, nor the person(s) who possibly ordered it has not been found. In last three months there have been several unfortunate incidents regarding media: infringement of Zadar „Hrvatski tjednik“ magazine rooms (magazine designer Antonio Mlikota was tied and threatened with the gun), in Rijeka journalist Hrvoje Šimičević was physically attacked while being on the job for Lupiga.com portal, and death threatening letters have been sent to Katarina Marić Banje, journalist of „Slobodna Dalmacija“ daily, Drago Pilsel, editor of portal „Autograf.hr“ and Saša Leković, freelancer and the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) President. The case of Željko Peratović is the only one where perpetrators have been found and known, but not the motif or person(s) who possibly ordered the attack. In all other cases not even perpetrators have been discovered. By reminding on these facts the CJA addresses a call to the authorized institutions to find persons who threatened and attacked journalists and persons who ordered these attacks and to punish them adequately,” said Denis Romac, CJA deputy president.
Photo : Novinar 4-6/2015
