SEEMO ulaže protest Vladi Srbije

28.02.2005.

 SEEMO PROTEST SERBIA

H.E. Boris Tadic, President of Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

Fax: +381 11 32 444 07

 

H.E. Vojislav Kostunica, Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

Fax: +381 11 3617 609

 

H.E. Predrag Markovic, President of the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

Fax: +381 11 682 850

 Vienna, 24 February 2005

Your Excellencies,

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is alarmed over the recently presented Draft Criminal Code in Serbia.

According to information before SEEMO, the latest Draft Criminal Code, which is to be discussed in the Serbian parliament in March, still contains criminal provisions for libel and defamation. In addition to fines, the Draft Law provides for prison sentences of up to six months for defamation committed through the media or at a public event.

 The punishment for libel, i.e. for revealing false information which could harm the honour and reputation of those concerned, can also be punished by a fine or a prison sentence of up to six months. If the libel was committed through the medium or at a public event, the law provides for prison sentences of up to one year, or three years if the person harmed has “suffered heavy consequences.”

SEEMO regards prison terms for defamation, whether suspended or not, as a gross violation of internationally accepted standards. Along with numerous other inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, SEEMO believes that defamation should be treated under civil law, not as a criminal offence subject to state punishments.

 We would like to remind you that SEEMO already criticised the existence of libel and defamation provisions in the Criminal Code in letters to Serbian authorities in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

 We also provided, in 2001 and 2002, the then Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic with a detailed analysis titled, “An Examination of the Serbian Criminal Code and Its Restriction on Freedom of Expression”, which included recommendations on what Serbia should do to bring its laws into line with internationally accepted standards on freedom of expression.

 Therefore, we call again on the Serbian authorities to initiate the process of removing repressive laws that criminalise defamation and libel.

 We thank you for your attention.

 Yours sincerely,

Oliver Vujovic
SEEMO Secretary General

 For any further information, please contact Kristina Benkotic, SEEMO Assistant.

SEEMO - IPI, Spiegelgasse 2/29, 1010 Vienna, Austria, Tel (SEEMO + HELP LINE): +43 1 513 39 40,

Tel (SEEMO): +43 1 512 90 11 11, Fax: +43 1 512 90 15,

E-mail: info@seemo.org, Web: http://www.seemo.org
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Povratak