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01.12.2005.

"COURTS SHOW THEIR BEST LIGHT WHEN IT COMES TO EFFICIENCY IN TRIALS AGAIST
JOURNALISTS"
The courts in the country are most efficient when it comes to trials against journalists accused of slander and offense. Only in the past few months alone, the courts have convicted and sentenced several journalists to probationary prison sentence. Channel 5 TV journalist Ida Protuger was not long ago sentenced to three months probation for writing the name of the current Mayor of Skopje, Trifun Kostovski, as owner of Eurostandard Bank in her article on the same bank. Protuger along with several of her colleagues
from other media that share the same or similar fate like hers, yesterday held a press conference, presenting the cases for which they had been convicted of.

"The courts' efficiency, when it comes to cases against journalists, could be seen from this case. I am dismayed by the court's ruling and its failure to take my forwarded proofs into account. The court had dismissed the forwarded quotation issued earlier by another daily newspaper, even the statement made by Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski himself that points Kostovski as owner of Eurostandard Bank", said Protuger, adding that she had informed the European Association of Journalists, OSCE and the foreign embassies in the country about the case.

"Vest" journalist Aleksandra Stojanovska had been several months ago arrested by police at 4 a.m., on account of Healthcare Minister, Vlado Dimov, submitted lawsuit, accusing her of slander for saying that Minster Dimov had ordered a laser knife from "Replek" pharmaceutical company. "Sitel" reporter Liljana Georgieva had been fined with 63.000 denars for publishing an article on a pediatrician from Kratovo, President of SDSM's municipal brunch in the town of Kratovo. She claimed that the trial against
her had been run by the prosecution's lawyer, who had during the entire trial been offending her and journalism as a profession. Channel 5 TV reporter Marijana Panova said she had gone through the same ordeal as her colleague Georgieva. She said that following an article on the events that had taken place in the State Clinic, by accident or deliberately, her car had been wrecked.

"Vecer" journalist Violeta Cvetanovska, currently standing similar trial as her colleagues, said "the courts' efficiency is being shown in cases against journalists. Instead of initiating procedures against officials that had committed embezzlements, the courts pursue people that report on the committed frauds".

During the press conference, the journalist said the law firm "Polenak" had almost always represented the prosecution in the cases against journalists.

Channel 5 TV main editor, Aco Kabranov, informed of
businessmen-lawyers-judges' connections and urged the courts to provide the journalists with a fair trial.

The mentioned journalists had neither received any support from the
Journalists' Association of Macedonia, nor had anyone from the Association ever shown interest in their cases. The last remembered Association action defending journalists' rights had been the protest held before the Interior Ministry, at the time when Ljube Boskovski had performed the Interior Minister function, the journalists say.

**The information contained in this autolist item is the sole responsibility
of GHM**

Povratak