Lupis said that the process of decriminalisation of defamation had started in different countries in the last two decades, and that in some countries, like France, there still existed the criminal act of defamation through the media, but that those regulations were more or less not applied.
Regulations about defamation exist in some South-East European countries, but courts rarely apply them. The only exceptions are Croatia and Serbia, which had two such cases last year, Lupis said.
Lupis said the very fact that such a regulation existed in the criminal law, even though it was not applied frequently, had the effect of intimidating journalists who he said the state wanted to prevent from writing about unpleasant topics such as corruption, privatisation fraud or organised crime.
Lupis believes that cases of possible defamation through the media should be dealt with in civil and not criminal proceedings, VOA said.
The most appropriate punishment for defamation through the media are fines that are proportional to the damage done, Lupis said.
He added that his organisation knew of the case of Croatian Radio-Television reporter Ljubica Letinic, who last year received a suspended prison sentence of two months for the defamation of a businessman from Split.
Such sentences are inappropriate and Croatia should abandon them, Lupis said.