The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has joined in condemning the new wave of lawsuits against Croatian media and journalists, assessing them as attempts to intimate and silence journalists who report in the public interest, the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) said on Wednesday.

EFJ issued a press release on it website after HND and Croatian journalists’ trade union (SNH) last week published the details of a new wave of SLAPPs (Strategic lawsuits against public participation) directed against Croatian media and journalists.

“There is no doubt that SLAPPs are used in Croatia as a tool to intimidate and silence those who report in the public interest. We call on the European Commission to urgently address this EU-wide problem. Journalists and media outlets simply don’t have the resources to deal with these vexatious lawsuits,” EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutierrez said, as carried by HND.

Dozens of SLAPPs target Telegram news portal and its journalist Dora Krsul, Virovitica.net and Index.hr. The lawsuits were initiated by former Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolusic and former Member of Parliament Branimir Glavas as well as University of Zagreb Rector Damir Boras, EFJ said on its website.

Tolusic filed a total of 11 lawsuits against Telegram, Index.hr and Virovitica.net. The disputed articles referred to Tolusic’s winery as well as to the proceedings initiated against him for misreporting in his Declaration of Assets, HND notes.

Virovitica.net portal is facing two active lawsuits filed by Tolusic, who demands €5,280, for reporting that he had concealed property he owned. The portal’s editor-in-chief Goran Gazdek is also facing a lawsuit filed by MP Romana Nikolic who is demanding almost €3,000 for a report about a former conviction, HND said.

According to information from HND, in May 2020 there were more than 905 active lawsuits against 18 media outlets and journalists in Croatia with plaintiffs seeking about €9 million in compensation.