ZAGREB, September 18, 2019 – Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović on Tuesday tweeted that the arrest and fine of Croatian reporter Gordan Duhaček was “pure intimidation of the press”, and called on Croatian authorities to protect media freedom and avoid undue pressure on the journalists.
“The arrest and fine of Croatian journalist Gordan Duhaček for his posts on Twitter amount to pure intimidation of the press. I call on Croatia’s authorities to protect media freedom and avoid undue pressure on journalists,” Mijatović tweeted.
Gordan Duhaček, a reporter for the Index web portal, was detained at Zagreb airport on Monday morning for ignoring a police summons to report for questioning over alleged public order offences, Zagreb police said.
Interior Minister Davor Božinović on Tuesday said that he had asked the police chief to provide him with a report on the arrest and denied claims that the government was restricting media freedoms and that it was intimidating journalists.
The Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) and the Gong NGO had earlier condemned the way the police acted toward Duhaček.
More news about pressure on media freedom in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.
