BELGRADE STEPS UP REPRESSION AGAINST MEDIA

March 23, 1999

For further information:

Miloš Zivkovic, 381 63 25 2227 or misibgd@opennet.org

Free 2000 website: www.free2000.opennet.org

Free 2000, The International Committee to Protect Independent Media in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, today reiterated its call for the urgent repeal of the new Public Information Act of the Republic of Serbia. The Committee pointed out that the legislation has been detrimental both to the government it is designed to protect and the media. In the case of the media, the damage is obvious, given the crippling 14,321,500 dinars (approximately US$ 900,000) in fines imposed on the media outlets.

Since its proclamation on October 20, 1998, the law has been criticised by almost every international organisation concerned with freedom of expression and human rights, including the United Nations Security Council. These organisations have condemned the legislation as being incompatible with the normal freedom of expression guarantees included in international covenants relevant to this domain.

The principal shorcomings of the act pertain to the fact that misdemeanour proceedings fail to provide a number of legal safeguards for the accused, all of which are guaranteed under international agreements which protect human rights. These proceedings can also lead to the imposition of enormous fines which, from January 1, 1999, can be replaced by prison sentences of up to sixty days. Under the Serbian Public Information Act, summons must be delivered to the defendent within 24 hours of a charge being brought. There is no guarantee, however, that the defendent will be informed what the charges are nor even that they have been brought. The act also introduces the presumption of guilt. The right of the defendent to defend himself is virtually done away with, as the whole proceedings - from complaint to charges to verdict - must be completed within 24 hours. Finally, an appeal lodged against the verdict does not suspend enforcement of the sentence, which must be executed within 24 hours of being passed.

Free 2000 warned that the Serbian Public Information Act would damage Yugoslavia's progress towards lasting peace and democracy and hinder the country's reintegration into international institutions and the family of democratic states.

Free 2000 pointed out that the new law has so far failed to achieve its goal of silencing alternative sources of information: the independent media (with the exception of the daily Nasa borba) still find ways to reach their audiences despite their exposure to unprecedented repression. Furthermore, the resourcefulness, courage and professionalism of the independent journalists who work under such repressive conditions has won them even greater confidence from their public.

Having reviewed the first five months of the act's enforcement, Free 2000 advised that the total sum of fines imposed on various media outlets under the Serbian Public Information Act was 14,321,500 dinars (about US$900,000).

The committee regarded the most serious attack as that against Slavko Curuvija and his publications, the daily Dnevni telegraf and the weekly Evropljanin. The fines imposed on these publications include 2,400,000 dinars ($150,000) for Evropljanin on October 24, 1998; 1,200,000 dinars ($75,000) for Dnevni telegraf on November 9, 1998, and 450,000 dinars ($28,200) for Dnevni telegraf on December 9, 1998. In addition, Mr Curuvija and two journalists from Dnevni Telegraf have each been sentenced to five months imprisonment.

The Montenegrin weekly Monitor, on November 7, 1998, was ordered to pay the largest fine so far levelled on any media operator: 2,800,000 dinars ($175,000).

To the committee's knowledge, none of these fines have been paid, allowing the court rulings to serve as a pretext for barring the distribution of these publications in Serbia.

The third highest fines, of 1,600,000 dinars ($120,000) each, were imposed on the Albanian-language newspapers Kosova sot (March 12, 1999), Gazeta Sqiptare (March 16, 1999) and Kombi (Sunday, March 21, 1999). The Albanian-language daily Koha Ditore was on March 21, 1999 fined with a total of 520,000 dinars ($32,000).

Then follows Belgrade daily Glas javnosti with journalist Sandra Radovanovic fined 50,000 dinars ($3,500) on November 17, 1998 and the publisher 380,000 dinars ($24,000) and 150,000 dinars ($10,000) on November 21, 1998 and March 13, 1999 respectively. Glas javnosti has announced that these fines have been paid.

The list of publications subjected to harsh penalties under the Public Information Act also includes Belgrade dailies Danas and Blic, the newspaper Pancevac, the bulletin Prava coveka in Leskovac and publications which are not primarily concerned with news reporting - the Novi Sad magazine Svet was fined 150,000 dinars ($9,500) on January 5, 1999.

Among the state-controlled media the highest fine was imposed on the daily Politika: a total of 300,000 dinars ($19,000). The daily Vecernje novosti was fined 260,000 dinars ($16,000) at the end of February 1999. No official information is available as to whether these fines have been paid.

Free2000 noted that the fines imposed on the state-controlled media amount to some five per cent of the total fines imposed so far, indicating that these were intended only to give legitimacy to the sentences passed on the independent media operators with the aim of intimidating them and forcing them to resort to self-censorship, or completely preventing their distribution. This last consequence, which has primarily affected the weeklies Evropljanin and Monitor and the daily Dnevni telegraf, causes grave concern as it indicates that the aim of the sanctions is to prevent the distribution of independent publications rather than to punish breaches of the law. Had this not been the case, these publications would have been allowed to continue distribution in order to generate revenue from which they may have been able to pay the fines imposed on them.

Free 2000 recommended:

• that the Serbian government immediately repeal the Public Information Act which contravenes the Serbian Constitution and international standards which safeguard freedom of the media.

• that all individual convictions under the current law on information be annulled.

• that journalists and media organisations which have suffered financial reprisals as a result of the law should be compensated in full by the government.

• that the Serbian and Yugoslav governments immediately prepare new media laws and regulations in consultation with journalist organisations and independent media operators throughout Yugoslavia, as well as with relevant international institutions. This new legislation should guarantee freedom of expression in the print and broadcast media.

For Free2000

• Veran Matic, Association of Independent Electronic Media in FR Yugoslavia

• Vladimir Ðeric, Belgrade Centre for Human Rights

• Ann Cooper, Committee to Protect Journalists

• Dušan Reljic, The European Institute for the Media

• Panayote Elias Dimitras, Greek Helsinki Monitor

• Goran Georgijev, Humanitarian Law Fund

• Bettina Peters, International Federation of Journalists

• Dr Aaron Rhodes, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

• Catherine Fitzpatrick, International League for Human Rights

• Johann Fritz, International Press Institute

• Jelena Pejic, Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights

• Roland Brunner, Medienhilfe Ex-Jugoslawien

• Bjørn Engesland, Norwegian Helsinki Committee

• Paul Staal, Press Now

• Alexandre Levy, Reporters sans Frontières

• Ann-Marie Boström, Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights

Free2000 - The International Committee to Protect Independent Media in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The committee was established in August 1998 to promote an atmosphere of free media in the FR of Yugoslavia by the year 2000. Further information on the committee and its activites at: http://www.free2000.opennet.org.

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