HND Condemns Attacks on Freedom of Expression
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The Croatian Journalistic Association (HND) expressed great concerns over recent actions by the Police directed at infringement of the freedom of expression on the internet and demanded from the Government and the Police to stop the repressive policies.
After the detention and questioning of Nikša Klečak, from Dubrovnik, over the photo depicting Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader in a nazi uniform, the Police has detained, over the past several days, a number of activists who distributed posters calling the citizens to join a regularly announced and registered protests against repressive government policies. Ivana Loko, local coordinator of the protest rally, organized by the Facebook group You should tighten the belt, you gang of thieves, in Zadar, was detained last Monday while distributing posters calling the citizens the protests scheduled for December 5. Similarly, on Sunday evening, an unnamed student was detained in Zagreb for the same reason and was held at the police station for six hours. HND especially objects to the fact that the prime minister himself initially justified the police actions, explaining they were directed to prevent hate speech. HND noted the abundance of true instances of hate-speech on the internet which are not properly investigated and sanctioned by the authorities. `The repression has totally missed its target. Furthermore, likely politically motivated – because of the parody with the swastika and the Nazi uniform (regardless of how insulting it may be for the PM) – presents the situation with freedom of speech in Croatia in a rather unfavourable light. We demand, therefore, from the authorities to stop the repression and investigate the responsibility of members of their own ranks`, says HND. |
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