The Croatian Journalists Association on Saturday most strongly condemned verbal and physical assaults against reporters covering an antigovernment protest held in Zagreb, noting that they constitute an attack on persons providing a public service and would be reported to the police.

The protest, held in the wake of a major corruption scandal at the INA oil and gas company, in which five suspects defrauded the company of nearly HRK 1 billion (€133m), was directed against the Andrej Plenkovic government and the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), with protesters demanding that an early election and all referenda that have not been held so far be called within 90 days.

Already at the start of the rally, the protesters targeted reporters covering the event, the Croatian Journalists Association (HND) said, noting that among the reporters who were verbally abused was Maja Sever, a reporter for the HTV public broadcaster and president of the European Journalists Federation.

It is worrying that reporters’ work is so grossly disparaged by people who stage protests to seek freedom of expression and the right to a different opinion, but who tend to insult and abuse reporters when given the opportunity by them to explain their positions, the HND said.

It recalled that journalism is a public good and that reporters have a duty to inform the public about everything that happens in society, as well as that it will report the latest case of pressure against reporters to the police and judicial bodies.

Police arrest four protesters

The Zagreb police arrested five men, including a minor, who took part in today’s protest.

The minor, a 17-year-old youth, who resisted arrest, had a knife, a flare, glass bottles with a flammable liquid and a homemade spiked weapon on him.
The media said the youth was already known to the police as a supporter of Marko Franciskovic, who was indicted for incitement to terrorism during protests against the national COVID-19 response team’s management of the coronavirus crisis.

The police have launched an investigation into the youth.

Of the four other protesters who were arrested, two will be charged with disorderly conduct while the other two were released as they were not found to have violated the law.