Appeal issued to free journalist from jail in Serbia
VIENNA, 9 December 1999 - Freimut Duve, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, is concerned with the continued imprisonment of Nebojsa Ristic, editor of TV Soko in Sokobanja, eastern Serbia.
On 23 April 1999, the Sokobanja District Court found Ristic guilty of disseminating false information after he publicly displayed a poster Free Press Made in Serbia with a Radio B92 stamp. According to the Court, Ristic "provoked unrest among citizens and caused them to mistrust the decisions of state agencies."
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media believes that Nebojsa Ristic's imprisonment is additional proof that freedom of expression is under pressure in Serbia and that the 1998 Serbian Law on Public Information was continuously used to wipe out any remnants of a free and independent media.
Freimut Duve is appealing to the Serbian regime to free Nebojsa Ristic so as to allow him to be back with his family for the Millennium and Orthodox Christmas.