REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDER OPPOSE AMENDMENTS TO PENAL CODE

PARIS/ZAGREB, July 17 (Hina) - The international journalists' association -- Reporters Without Borders -- on Thursday condemned amendments to the Croatian Penal Code and proposed changes to the Media Act, saying they represented a blow to press freedom. #L# The organisation believes the amendments will humper access to official information, limit the possibility of criticising public figures, and make it easier to prosecute journalists, thereby encouraging self-censorship, read a statement forwarded to Hina. Reporters Without Borders secretary general Robert Menard called upon Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan and Culture Minister Antun Vujic to so everything possible to ensure that the Penal Code amendments are repealed and that any change to the Media Act does not obstruct the work of journalists. "In the first of the two amendments to the Penal Code on July 9, parliament repealed Article 203, which protected journalists from prosecution for libel if they acted in good faith and there was no intent to defame. Under the second amendment to Article 309, any insult or criticism hampering the work of a judge or prosecutor is henceforth punishable by three years in prison and any journalist expressing an opinion on an ongoing trial can be sentenced to one year in prison" the statement said. (hina) it