On September 26, 1996, a slander trial against two journalist of the satirical weekly, "Feral Tribune," ended with their acquittal. The journalists, Victor Ivancic and Marinko Culic, had been accused for slandering the President of the Republic of Croatia, Franjo Tudjman, in the April edition of the weekly paper.In this trial, for the first time, charges were filed under the amended section of Article 71 of the Croatian criminal code. The Croatian Parliament passed this law in March, which forbids the publishing or broadcasting of untrue information that may injure the "honor and reputation" of the President of the Republic of Croatia and other high officials. The law dictates sentences of up to three years imprisonment.
A satirical article about President Tudjman's plan to transform Jasenovac (a monument of victims of fascism) into a monument for all victims of war; a photo-montage showing Tudjman receiving a miniature of the Jasenovac monument from Ante Pavelic (head of Croatia in WWII, allied with the Axis); and a statement given in the article describing President Tudjman as a follower of the Spanish General, Franco, were the subjects of the accusation.
The trial was followed with great interest not only by journalists and human right activists in Croatia, but also by the international media. Croatia's admittance to the Council of Europe was postponed because of restrictions on, and harassment of, the media, including the new slander law used in this case.
The trial opened on June 14, adjourned to September 25, and the verdict was announced on September 26. It was led by Judge Marin Mrcela. The state attorney was Visnja Loncar. The two defendants were represented by eight defense lawyers.
The two defendants pleaded not guilty and pointed out that the use of irony and satire is a way to express an opinion or criticism, not an offense. They stated that they could not understand how it could be slander to call Franjo Tudjman a follower of Franco, as Tudjman himself had several times publicly declared that he admired some of General Franco's policies.
The public prosecutor demanded that the defendants be found guilty of slander. She said that the only aim of the articles and the photo-montage in question was to slander the President. She added that the defendants want to have an anarchist state, where everyone can say anything and in any way they wanted. In her opinion, the articles written by the defendants were violating the ethical code of journalism.
In the verdict the two defendants were acquitted of the two charges against them. The first charge could not be ruled on because of improper filing procedure. In the second charge, however, Judge Mrcela explained that the slander law could not be applied in this case. The legal definition of slander is the spreading of facts that are not in accordance with the truth. Neither the photo-montage nor the statement that Tudjman is a follower of Franco are facts; the judge stated they are opinions.
In response to the prosecutors accusations, the judge said that the expression of criticism is not a cause of anarchy, but rather part of a democratic society. He added, the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia gives people the right to express their thoughts freely and openly.
The judge pointed out that his verdict only referred to the statements that were mentioned in the accusation. It cannot say anything about the articles in Feral Tribune in general.
The parties have the right to appeal against the verdict within eight days after receiving a written copy of the verdict. The public prosecutor has not indicated that she will appeal.
Commentary
It is the opinion of the Otvorene Oci monitors present that the trial proceedings were fair. Spectators were not allowed to enter during the proceedings, but no one was denied entrance to the courtroom. All parties involved in the trial had ample possibilities to give their own statements and to comment on the statements of others.
The trial was covered in the independent newspapers, but not on television. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the trial was mentioned only on the program, "Slikom po Sliku." This program was canceled in July with no explanation given; thus, there was no television coverage of the last two sessions. Since this was important case, the lack of coverage by state television is worrying.
Groups interested freedom of media reacted strongly to this case. "The Committee of Friends of Feral Tribune" informed human rights organizations about the date of the trial and asked them to announce that they were coming, so that a large enough courtroom would be provided. The courtroom, seating 150, was full for all three sessions and many prominent activists were present.
"Friends of Feral" also organized a street theater in Zagreb's Flower Square to raise awareness of the case. The play was about the marriage of "Miss Press and Mister Law," and in it the marriage ended unhappily because the couple were not meant for each other.
The Croatian Helsinki Committee wrote an open letter to President Tudjman asking him to withdraw his charges against the Feral journalists. A similar petition came from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). At the beginning of September, CPJ also sent another letter to President Tudjman after slander charges were raised against two Croatian newspapers. Trials for these newspapers' cases are yet to be set.
The case against Feral was the first case where the new law was used and is widely seen as a test case. International and local journalists commented that the verdict was a step in the right direction, a step toward protection for freedom of press in Croatia.
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