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

Vienna, 9 May 1997

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in almost 100 countries, is most concerned over the planned retrial of two Croatian journalists.

We are informed that Viktor Ivancic, editor-in-chief of Feral Tribune, a satirical weekly, and Marinko Culic, a reporter for the paper, are to be retried on charges of libelling the President of the Republic, despite the fact the two journalists were acquitted by a lower court on 26 September 1996. IPI understands that this decision was cancelled by the Supreme Court on 5 May 1997. The date of the next hearing has not been revealed.

In May 1996 Messrs Ivancic and Culic were charged with criminal libel for an article published in Feral Tribune on 29 April 1996, which was critical of Your Excellency’s plan to re-bury the remains of World War II Croatian fascists alongside their victims in a joint cemetery at the Jasenovac concentration camp. 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.

We strongly urge Your Excellency to ensure that the charges against Viktor Ivancic and Marinko Culic are dropped and to end the campaign of harassment against Croatia’s independent media in general and the Feral Tribune in particular.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director