December 28, 2017 – Deutsche Welle reports on Reporter without Borders warning that press freedom in Croatia is in jeopardy, with two journalists speaking out about online threats they have received.
“It was supposed to be an uplifting TV report about a Nigerian refugee who has managed to integrate into Croatian society. And who, after being granted asylum, has now opened a small restaurant in Zagreb offering African cuisine. But the TV report provoked an unexpected backlash. Mere hours after the piece aired on public broadcaster HRT, TV journalist Maja Sever received an anonymous death threat on Facebook.
“I opened the message and briefly wondered what kind of a person issues death threats to others like this. But I didn’t think for too long and quickly made a screenshot of the message and then reported the person to the police,” the well-known Croatian journalist recalls. The author of the threat, an individual claiming to be a Croatian living in Belgium, threatened to kill Sever for supposedly promoting “multiculturalism.”
