H. E. Franjo Tudjman
President of the Republic of Croatia
Zagreb
Croatia

Vienna, 12 December 1997

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in over 100 countries, is most concerned about the continuation of judicial proceedings against Viktor Ivancic, editor-in-chief of the independent weekly Feral Tribune, and Marinko Culic, a reporter for the paper.

We are informed that the two journalists are to be retried on 22 December on charges of libelling the President of the Republic, despite the fact that they were acquitted by the Municipal Court in Zagreb in September 1996. The decision was revoked by the Zagreb County Court in April 1997.

In May 1996, Viktor Ivancic and Marinko Culic were charged with criminal libel for an article published in the Feral Tribune, which was critical of Your Excellency’s proposal to re-bury the remains of World War II Croatian fascists alongside their victims in a joint cemetery at Jasenovac. The case was the first to be brought under Croatia’s amended Penal Code. The amendments, which were passed by Croatian Parliament in March 1996, provide for fines and jail terms of up to three years for persons who commit slanderous or insulting offences against the president of Croatia, the prime minister, the speaker of parliament, and the presidents of the supreme court and the constitutional court.

IPI believes that the judicial standards by which Viktor Ivancic and Marinko Culic are being judged contradict the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and similar provisions. The enforcement of “insult laws” prevent the media from offering criticism of government action, and lead to self-censorship.

We therefore strongly urge Your Excellency to ensure that all charges against Viktor Ivancic and Marinko Culic are dropped and that the media in Croatia be judged by civil libel laws and not by criminal statutes.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director