ZAGREB, July 15 (Hina) - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Tuesday voiced concern over amendments to the Penal Code which, according to the HND, restrict the freedom of speech and facilitate the prosecution and envisages
fines for publishing information which could hurt someone's reputation and dignity.
ZAGREB, July 15 (Hina) - The Croatian Journalists' Association
(HND) on Tuesday voiced concern over amendments to the Penal Code
which, according to the HND, restrict the freedom of speech and
facilitate the prosecution and envisages fines for publishing
information which could hurt someone's reputation and dignity.
#L#
A statement, issued by the HND Executive Committee and signed by HND
president Dragutin Lucic, said that until now journalists could
have been acquitted of liability charges if circumstances showed
that the intention was not to harm the dignity and reputation of an
individual.
Such a possibility, stipulated by Article 203 of the Penal Code, no
longer exists after the adoption of the amendments, said Lucic and
added that "in the future even the truth will not be a certain
guarantee to a journalists that he will not be prosecuted".
The HND therefore voices its serious concern with the amendments to
Article 203, as well as other changes to the Penal Code,
particularly the introduction of a criminal act of harming the
reputation of judges, state prosecutors and public notaries.
The HND called on the government and deputies to take into account
the warning that the adopted amendments were contrary to legal
standards of public communications in countries with a longer
democratic tradition than Croatia. The association also urged the
government to re-introduce stipulations which protect the freedom
of speech to a greater extent.
(hina) it sb