ZAGREB, April 18, 2019 – Croatia gained five places in the Reporters Without Borders’ 2019 World Press Freedom Index, ranking 64th, but the organisation warns about political pressure on public TV, physical assaults on and intimidation of journalists on the Internet.
The 2019 World Press Freedom Index is again led by Norway and other Scandinavian countries.
“Croatian journalists who investigate corruption, organised crime or war crimes are often subjected to harassment campaigns,” Reporters Without Borders says and adds that “physical attacks, along with threats and cyber-violence, continue to be a major problem for journalists in Croatia.”
“Government meddling in the public TV broadcaster HRT continues to be a real problem, with the effect of limiting media independence. HRT is clearly under political pressure. Interest groups try to influence its editorial policies and interfere in its internal operations,” the organisation says.
It notes that the “HRT management is even suing employees who have complained about these problems.”
“Defamation is criminalised and insulting ‘the Republic, its emblem, its national hymn or flag’ is punishable by up to three years in prison. Worse still, ‘humiliating’ media content has been criminalised since 2013.”
As for Croatia’s neighbours, 2019 World Press Freedom Index ranks Slovenia 34th, Bosnia and Herzegovina 63rd, Hungary 87th, Serbia 90th, both countries dropping 14 places, and Montenegro 104th.
More news about the media freedom in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.
