ZAGREB, September 17, 2019 – The GONG NGO said on Tuesday that the police treatment of journalist Gordan Duhaček represented unacceptable pressure on journalists and the continuation of the erosion of freedom of the press.
“Situations appropriate to repressive regimes are occurring under the government of Andrej Plenković, who is preparing to take over the presidency of the Council of the EU,” GONG said, responding to Monday’s arrest of Duhaček over, as the NGO said, a satirical little song on Twitter.
The media in Croatia are swamped in lawsuits, politicians harass journalists and the police go after them, visiting them at their workplace, GONG said.
It voiced concern about judge Krešimir Ozanić’s threat to Duhaček, which was published by Index, the website Duhaček works for, and demanded an urgent reaction from the State Judicial Council and the Justice Ministry.
“An attack on journalists is an attack on the freedom of the press, on the right of all citizens to question the government, as well as an attack on our fundamental political liberties, which we must not allow in any way,” GONG said.
Duhaček was arrested at Zagreb airport on Monday for not responding to a police summons and was subsequently fined.
The arrest was condemned by the Croatian Journalists Association on Monday, while the House of Human Rights Zagreb and the Centre for Peace Studies said today it constituted unacceptable pressure on freedom of the press in Croatia and yet another problematic police action against persons who expressed social criticism.
More news about journalism in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.
