Croatia: Union reports over 900 lawsuits against journalists and media

There are at least 951 active lawsuits against Croatian journalists and media in which plaintiffs are demanding 10.3 million Euros in compensation, a Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) survey has revealed. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) support their affiliate’s demands to urgently change the law to end the culture of harassing journalists and the media with lawsuits. Using SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) is a widespread practice in Croatia. Their objective is to censor, intimidate and silence media workers by burdening them with court proceedings. According to the CJA’s survey, at least 951 lawsuits were presented against journalists and media…