Courts in Serbia have to safeguard media freedom and public’s right to know, says OSCE representative

VIENNA, 16 July 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today regretted the ruling by the appeals court in Belgrade against the media outlet B92 for defamation in connection with reporting involving a former Serbian official.

“Courts must take into account the right to freedom to information,” Mijatović said. “This ruling may have a chilling effect on media freedom as it restricts reporting on matters of public interest. International standards call for public officials to endure a higher threshold of criticism by the media.”

On 1 July the Belgrade appeals court upheld a ruling by the Belgrade high court from October 2013 in which B92 was fined for defamation charges against the former Assistant Minister of Health, Zorica Pavlović. The decision by the appeals court also deprives media outlets to report freely on this story, which can seriously damage investigative journalism. The ruling followed B92’s reporting on an investigation of alleged mismanagement of public funds involving Pavlović. Parts of B92’s story originated from information contained in an official police memo.

“When journalists base their reporting on content from official reports, international standards call for their immunity in cases where this contributes to public debate on matters of legitimate concern,” Mijatović said.

The 1 July ruling by the appeals court in Belgrade can be appealed to the Serbian Constitutional Court.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on facebook.com/osce.rfom.