The persecution of journalists in Croatia continues in processes where judges sue journalists, and Croatia is the worst in the EU in that, it was said on Saturday at a press conference called by the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND).

The HND announced a campaign aimed at revealing the names of judges who are suing journalists.

The HND warned about the latest “judicial attack on the journalistic profession”, i.e. a verdict of the Zagreb County Court according to which journalist and member of the HND Davorka Blazevic must pay Supreme Court judge Senka Klaric Baranović HRK 40,000 in damages for defamation over an article she wrote in 2015 for Tris portal.

HND president Hrvoje Zovko said that for this reason, the HND will launch a campaign in the coming days in which the names of judges suing journalists will be published.

“This harassment of journalists, because it can only be called that, and seeking high damages for defamation is shameful. It is a case of ‘suspended litigation’ in which large sums of money are sought in damages. I wonder how and who can determine ’emotional distress’ and how much it costs,” said Zovko.

This is a scandalous verdict and as such it shows that the terror of lawsuits continues, and that needs to be put to an end once and for all, the HND president said.

He recalled that there are other “serial plaintiffs”, naming Osijek judge Zvonko Vrban, who on several occasions sued the Telegram portal and the portal’s editor-in-chief Jelena Valentić, as well as Zadar County Court judge Ivan Markovic, who filed 26 lawsuits against journalists and the media.

“Journalists are sued and attacked and, considering everything, now we can say, ‘If you wanted a war, you will have it.’ We will not give up demanding that the provision on defamation be removed from the law, because it serves to impose pressure and censorship, persecute journalists and destroy them financially,” Zovko said, demanding that the state do something.