OSCE Representative Désir concerned about numerous lawsuits against journalists in Croatia and disputes involving public service broadcaster HRT

VIENNA, 6 March 2019 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed his concern about the high number of lawsuits filed against journalists and news outlets by politicians and public officials in Croatia and an ongoing dispute involving the public service broadcaster HRT. Both issues could negatively affect media freedom in Croatia, he warned.

According to the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA), there are more than 1,100 ongoing lawsuits against journalists and news outlets in the country. Many cases were filed by politicians and public figures and include the offence of ‘shaming’ which is still part of the Croatian Criminal Code. On 2 March, hundreds of journalists led by the CJA gathered in Zagreb to express their discontent at the media freedom environment.

“Such a high number of court cases against journalists is astonishing,” said Désir. “Defamation laws should not be misused in order to intimidate journalists. I call for the removal of ‘shaming’ as an offence from the legislation and for the full decriminalization of defamation.”

Désir stressed that the OSCE Ministerial Council Decision on the Safety of Journalists adopted in December 2018 calls on participating States to “ensure that defamation laws do not carry excessive sanctions or penalties that could undermine the safety of journalists and/or effectively censor journalists and interfere with their mission of informing the public and, where necessary, to revise and repeal such laws, in compliance with participating States’ obligations under international human rights law.”

The Representative also noted that there are 36 lawsuits filed by the public service broadcaster HRT against journalists, some of whom are its own staff. HRT has also filed lawsuits against the CJA president Hrvoje Zovko and the president of the CJA’s branch at HRT, Sanja Mikleušević Pavić.

“I urge HRT to engage in a constructive out-of-court dialogue with journalists and resolve the current disputes,” said Désir. “It is commendable that the reconciliation process has started in some of the cases and this will hopefully result in the dropping of all charges against journalists.”

The Representative regretted that the whole situation resulted in a decision by different organizations and political parties to temporarily boycott the work of HRT, which led to the expulsion of its journalists from a press event last week.

“Public service broadcasters are a vital part of the media scene and should contribute to the quality of information, diversity and pluralism. I insist on two issues: public service broadcasters need to be independent and free from any kind of political interference, and that there should be no boycott of their activities,” Désir concluded.