ZAGREB, 13 July (Hina) – The Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) called on Monday on the government and the Justice Ministry to decriminalise offences against honour and reputation, arguing that Croatia’s new anti-SLAPP legislation does not adequately protect journalists from criminal prosecution.
Speaking at a news conference, HND president Hrvoje Zovko said the main shortcoming of the law on the protection of persons engaged in public participation, known as the anti-SLAPP law, was that its deterrent measures did not apply to criminal proceedings. He cited several recent cases that he said illustrated continuing pressure on journalists.
Among them, he said, councillors from the ruling HDZВ in the municipality of Proložac had recently tried to prevent a Radio NU journalist from filming and live-streaming a council session despite lacking the authority to do so. He also referred to an incident in which, he said, Telegram journalist and HND vice-president Drago Hedl was forcibly removed from a restaurant in Vukovar-Srijem County ahead of a planned visit by Prime Minister Andrej PlenkoviД‡.
Zovko said journalists in Croatia faced both civil and criminal liability for published work, warning that excluding criminal proceedings from the anti-SLAPP law could lead to more criminal cases against reporters and editors.
He cited as an example criminal proceedings brought by former Croatian Radio Television (HRT) director-general Kazimir Bačić against journalists Branko Mijić and Goran Gazdek, which have continued for six years over an HND statement they signed while serving as the association’s vice-presidents.
Zovko also said Croatia had produced three of Europe’s most prolific SLAPP litigants over the past five years: HRT and judges Zvonko Vrban and Ivan MarkoviД‡. He contrasted Croatia with France, where defamation claims are typically brought for symbolic damages, while compensation claims in Croatia can reach €100,000.
Tvrtko Jakovina, chairman of the board of the Miko Tripalo Centre for Democracy and Law, said the organisation, with support from the European Commission, was monitoring implementation of the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive in Croatia. He said court proceedings lasted at least four years on average.
According to Jakovina, between 2016 and 2023 there were on average at least 60 lawsuits a year against journalists that could, in some respects, be classified as SLAPP cases.
HND secretary-general Melisa Skender said SLAPP lawsuitsВ affected not only journalists but also civil society organisations. She said HND had only been included in the government’s working group drafting the legislation after threatening to suspend all cooperation with the Justice Ministry unless it was represented.
Skender added that HND had first proposed decriminalising offences against honour and reputation in 2019, after the establishment of the Centre for the Protection of Freedom of Expression. Under the proposal, reputational disputes would instead be resolved through the publication of corrections, replies or apologies.
