Croatia / Europe & Central Asia

  
Croatian journalist Melita Vrsaljko at work in the offices of Faktograf prior to being attacked in her home on July 16.

Croatia’s Melita Vrsaljko attacked twice over report on illegal dumpsite

Berlin, July 18, 2024—Croatian authorities should swiftly investigate two attacks made against reporter Melita Vrsaljko in relation to her environmental reporting and take steps to ensure her safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Monday, July 15, Vrsaljko and a cameraman were filming an illegal dumpsite in Nadin village in central Croatia when…

Read More ›

Prominent Serbian minority newspaper repeatedly threatened in Croatia after nationalist party gains power

Berlin, May 29, 2024 — Croatian authorities should immediately and thoroughly investigate the threats against journalists of Novosti, a weekly newspaper of the Serbian national minority, and ensure their safety and ability to report, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Novosti journalists have received dozens of insulting, hateful, intimidating, and threatening messages by email,…

Read More ›

Croatian court injunction blocks news website H-alter from reporting on public childcare clinic

Berlin, October 8, 2021 — Croatian authorities should lift the gag order on the news website H-alter, and ensure that court actions do not silence the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 21, the Zagreb Municipal Civil Court, the capital, issued an injunction to H-alter, barring the outlet from reporting on…

Read More ›

Two men threaten to kill journalists at Croatian outlet over coverage of wedding amid coronavirus

Berlin, December 8, 2020 — Croatian authorities must quickly and thoroughly investigate the threats made to journalists at the Zadarski.hr website and Slobodna Dalmacija newspaper, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about noon on December 1, in the coastal city of Zadar, two men wearing surgical masks…

Read More ›

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic is seen in front of a cathedral in Zagreb on March 22, 2020. Two journalists were recently attacked while covering a Mass held against the COVID-19 lockdown in Croatia. (Reuters/Antonio Bronic)

Croatian reporters attacked while documenting Easter Mass amid COVID-19 lockdown

On April 12, 2020, in the coastal Croatian city of Split, several unidentified men attacked Živana Šušak Živković, a reporter working for local news website Dalmatinskiportal, and Ivana Sivro, a camera operator for local broadcaster N1 TV, while they were documenting an Easter Mass held despite a ban on public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic,…

Read More ›

Police officers are seen in Zagreb, Croatia, on August 1, 2019. Police recently arrested journalist Gordan Duhaček in Zagreb. (AFP/Denis Lovrovic)

Croatian journalist detained and fined for satirical tweet

On September 16, 2019, Croatian police arrested Gordan Duhaček, a reporter working for news website Index.hr, as he was about to leave the country at Zagreb airport, and detained him until a court hearing the following day, according to a report by his employer and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Read More ›

Austrian police, pictured at a World War II memorial in Bleiburg on May 18, 2019, that was attended by thousands of Croatian far-right supporters. A Croatian journalist says he was harassed and assaulted during the event. (AP/Darko Bandic)

Croatian journalist Danijel Majić assaulted, harassed in Austria

Danijel Majić, a Croatian journalist working for German daily Frankfurter Rundschau, said he was physically and verbally assaulted by a Croatian TV presenter and members of the crowd in the Austrian city of Bleiburg on May 18, 2019, according to Majić’s newspaper. A Croatian publication later published photographs of Majić alongside other journalists who covered…

Read More ›

Balancing Act

Press freedom at risk as EU struggles to match action with values The European Union strives to be a global leader in press freedom but faces challenges from member states that have criminal defamation and blasphemy laws, and have introduced counterterrorism measures, including mass surveillance. The EU has made press freedom imperative in negotiating with…

Read More ›

Balancing Act

About this report The report examines how the European Union upholds its commitment to press freedom in its interaction with member states, international bodies, and strategic partners. It examines the impact that repressive legislation in member states has on journalists, how calls for wider surveillance and governance in the wake of recent terror attacks risks…

Read More ›

Balancing Act

Summary The European Union describes itself as a model for press freedom and an exemplary global power. Although many of its 28 member states feature at the top of international press freedom rankings, there are significant challenges that undermine press freedom and new threats are emerging.

Read More ›