26. 02. 2008

B92 FILES CRIMINAL CHARGES BECAUSE OF THREATS

Belgrade, February 26, 2008 (Politika) – The media company B92 announced yesterday that it has filed criminal charges to the Fourth Municipal Office of Public Prosecutor and informed the police about numerous threats of physical elimination, mostly delivered by email to the journalists and editors of the company during the recent days.

In its statement B92 insists that pressures, threats and attacks on the media and journalists must be investigated and punished in a way that would fully confirm the awareness of the importance of media freedom in a democratic society, resulting not only in the protection of the company and its journalists, but also the protection of the public's right to receive information about events of greatest importance.

"We believe that these threats are, above all, an attempt to force our company to change its editorial policy, to ignore and filter news whose publication runs against someone's interest in Serbia, to agree to be used as an instrument in the drive to limit the free exchange of ideas, information and opinions. We share a deep resolve to resist this pressure, as we have done previously in our history", states the announcement signed by the editor in chief of B92, Veran Matic.

B92 points out that defense of constitutional order, the rule of law and democracy requires the defense of freedom of expression and media freedom. B92 reminds that the Constitution and laws of this country guarantee freedom of the media and forbid censorship, and that the law forbids physical and other threats to journalists and the media.

The announcement further states that the messages delivered to B92 reflect vulgarity and a lack of culture. They are mostly delivered from fictitious addresses at West European and American anonymous email services, showing hypocrisy and cowardice.
RTV B92 considers the results of previous criminal charges filed because of threats and assaults unsatisfactory, since in all these years they have resulted in only one conviction and a suspended prison sentence.

"Cases go out of date, committed crimes are qualified too mildly in our opinion, perpetrators remain anonymous or, when identified, are charged after long delays", it is said in the statement.