PRESS RELEASE

13 may 2009

Croatia

Interior minister fails again to support charges against journalist

_____________________________________________________________________

Reporters Without Borders condemns a court decision to continue investigating the charge of �disseminating information likely to upset the population� under article 322/1 of the criminal code that was brought against journalist Zeljko Peratovic in January at the behest at interior minister Tomislav Karamarko. It carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison as well as a possible fine.

Karamarko initiated the case against Peratovic because of allegations he made in two blogs, peratovic.net and peratovic.blog.hr, accusing Karamarko of obstructing the investigation into the death of Milan Levar, a witness under the protection of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), who was killed by a car bomb in Gospic in August 2000.

Karamarko failed to produce any legally sound evidence against Peratovic when he was initially questioned in court. A second hearing was held in the case on 11 May at which the minister was given another chance. He brought several aides and close associates along to testify but he again failed to support the charge.

�It is high time to close this case, which has no foundation,� Reporters Without Borders said. �The charges under article 322/1 are inconsistent and should be dismissed. The very concept of �information likely to upset the population� is based on an obsolete idea of free expression.

�Despite being given another opportunity at this second hearing, the interior minister still clearly lacks the means to support his allegations. His ties to those who were summoned to testify highlight the lack of impartiality in this case. Is the population that is supposedly �upset� by Peratovic�s information limited to these five people, all relatives of the minister or members of the intelligence agency he used to head?�

Reporters Without Borders added: �We urge the judicial authorities in charge of this case to dismiss all the charges against Peratovic.�

Le journaliste Zeljko Peratovic victime de harc�lement juridique

Reporters sans fronti�res d�nonce les poursuites ouvertes le 14 janvier 2008 � l�encontre du journaliste Zeljko Peratovic, � la demande du ministre de l�Int�rieur Tomislav Karamarko, qui l�accuse d�avoir contrevenu � l�article 322/1 KZA du code p�nal prescrivant une peine de prison d�un an et des amendes � pour toute personne qui diffuserait des informations de nature � inqui�ter la population �.

Sur son blog (peratovic.net et peratovic.blog.hr), dans des courriers adress�s aux autorit�s juridiques nationales, et dans diverses interventions publiques, Zeljko Peratovic a d�nonc� l�obstruction pratiqu�e par Tomislav Karamarko dans l�enqu�te sur la mort de Milan Levar, un t�moin prot�g� du Tribunal p�nal international pour l�ex-Yougoslavie (TPIY) d�c�d� dans l�explosion de sa voiture, le 28 ao�t 2000 � Gospic. Une enqu�te a �t� ouverte, dans laquelle Zeljko Peratovic a �t� entendu comme t�moin, puisqu�il figure parmi les derni�res personnes � avoir vu Milan Levar en vie. En violation du secret de l�instruction, le procureur a ensuite r�v�l� l�identit� de Zeljko Peratovic

� Le ministre Karamarko se dit victime de diffamation, et pr�tend que je veux inqui�ter la population. Il poursuit cependant un autre but. Au-del� des amendes, le tribunal peut surtout d�cider de m�interdire, pour une dur�e ind�termin�e, de diffuser de l�information. Il me priverait de fait d�exercer toutes activit�s journalistiques, sur mon blog ou dans d�autres m�dias. Ceci m�interdirait aussi de poursuivre mes efforts pour que l�on d�couvre les commanditaires de l�assassinat de Milan Levar. Certains misent �galement sur la prescription dans ce dossier. Me r�duire au silence constituerait une voie possible pour y parvenir �, a d�clar� Zaljko Peratovic.

� Il semble que les enqu�tes men�es par la presse sur les crimes de guerre ne soient pas les bienvenues dans le contexte d�adh�sion � l�Union europ�enne. Le ministre de l�Int�rieur devrait plut�t s�attacher � la progression des enqu�tes sur l�assassinat d�un t�moin prot�g�, plut�t que de s�attaquer � ceux qui refusent de voir l�oubli et l�impunit� s�installer �, a d�clar� Reporters sans fronti�res.

� Les poursuites �tablies sur base de l�article 322/1 sont ridicules et irrecevables. La notion � d�information de nature � inqui�ter la population � constitue une vision obsol�te de la libert� d�expression, incompatible avec les standards d�mocratiques europ�ens auxquels la Croatie devra se conformer si elle veut rejoindre l�Union europ�enne �, a ajout� l�organisation.

� Enfin, si les poursuites contre Zeljko Peratovic devaient �tre maintenues, nous insistons pour que les prochaines auditions de chacune des parties ne soit plus effectu�es � huis clos. �, a conclu Reporters sans fronti�res.

En 2008, Zeljko Peratovic a re�u des menaces de mort par la voie de commentaires publi�s sur son blog. Le 17 octobre 2007, il avait �t� arr�t� � son domicile et plac� en d�tention, pour �divulgation de secret d�Etat�. Le journaliste avait publi� sur son blog (peratovic.net et peratovic.blog.hr) des documents relatifs aux crimes de guerre commis dans le village de Gospic (sud-ouest de la Croatie), dans les ann�es 90. Il avait, notamment, �voqu� l�existence d�un t�moignage vid�o mettant en cause un des vice-pr�sidents du Parlement (M. Darko MILINOVIC, momentane Ministre de la Sant� et de la Protection sociale) et le d�funt ministre de la D�fense, Gojko Susak.. A 42 ans, Zeljko Peratovic, risquait jusqu�� trois ans d�emprisonnement. Si les poursuites contre le journaliste n�ont pas progress�, les charges retenues contre lui n�ont pas non plus �t� lev�es. Les archives qui avaient �t� saisies � cette occasion ne lui ont toujours pas �t� rendues.

Zeljko Peratovic a travaill� pour diff�rents quotidiens dont le dernier en date est Vjesnik. Ses enqu�tes sur les crimes de guerre lui ont valu de graves difficult�s. Il a perdu son emploi, a �t� agress� et est consid�r� comme un tra�tre par une partie de la population, qui refuse l�id�e m�me que des crimes aient pu �tre commis par des Croates pendant la guerre.

En 2003, il a re�u le prix de la libert� de la presse de la section autrichienne de Reporters sans fronti�res.

RSF, Europe et ex-URSS Croatie, Publi� le 15 janvier 2009

Judicial harassment of war crimes reporter continues

Croatia, 15. 01. 2009

Reporters Without Borders condemns the charge that was brought yesterday at the behest at interior minister Tomislav Karamarko against a journalist who writes about war crimes in the 1990s. Zeljko Peratovic is accused of �disseminating information likely to upset the population� under article 322/1 KZA of the criminal code, which carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison as well as a possible fine.

In blog entries (peratovic.net and peratovic.blog.hr), letters to national judicial officials and a series of public statements, Peratovic has accused the interior minister of obstructing the investigation into the death of Milan Levar, a witness under the protection of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), who was killed by a car bomb in the southeastern village of Gospic in August 2000.

Peratovic was questioned as a witness in the course of the investigation because he was one of the last people to see Levar alive. The prosecutor in charge of the investigation subsequently identified Peratovic as a witness, in violation of judicial confidentiality.

�Interior minister Karamarko portrays himself as the victim of defamation and claims that I want to upset the population, but he is pursuing a different objective� Peratovic said. �As well as fining me, the court could above all decide to ban me from disseminating information for an indefinite period. That would prevent be from undertaking any kind of journalistic activity, on my blog or in other media.�

Peratovic added : �It would also prevent me from continuing my effort to discover who was behind Milan Levar�s murder. Some people are counting on the statute of limitations eventually applying to this case. Silencing me could be a way of achieving this.�

Reporters Without Borders said : �It seems that press investigations into war crimes are not welcome at a time when Croatia is trying to join the European Union. The interior minister should be trying to help the investigation into a protected witness�s murder rather than attacking those who refuse to let war crimes be forgotten and go unpunished.�

�The prosecution being brought against Peratovic under article 322/1 is ridiculous and unacceptable,� the press freedom organisation continued. �The crime of �information likely to upset the population� reflects on obsolete view of freedom of expression that is incompatible with the European democratic standards that Croatia will have to conform to if it wants to join the EU.�

Reporters Without Borders added : �If the prosecution of Peratovic goes ahead, we insist that whenever any of the parties are questioned in court, it no longer takes place behind closed doors.�

Zeljko Peratovic, who received death threats in 2008 in the form of comments added to his blog, was arrested at his home on 17 October 2007 on a charge of revealing state secret for posting documents on his blog relating to war crimes in Gospic in the 1990s, and for referring to the existence of a video of witness accusing former defence minister Gojko Susak (now deceased) and a parliamentary deputy president (Darko Milinovic, now croatian minister of th health and new vice president of HDZ, op. 45 lines) of involvement.

Aged 42, he faced a possible three-year prison sentence. In the event, the prosecution was not pursued but the charges have not been withdrawn and the files confiscated by the police have still not been returned to him.

Peratovic has worked for various newspapers, the latest of which is Vjesnik. His investigations into war crimes have earned him a lot of trouble. He has been fired, he has been physically attacked and he is regarded as a traitor by many of his compatriots, who refuse outright to consider the possibility that Croatians may have committed war crimes.

He received the received the press freedom prize of the Reporters Without Borders Austrian section in 2003.

RSF, Publi� le 15 janvier 2009

Prosecution authorities rejected suit; Karamarko files private suit against journalists

Since the County State Attorney�s office in Zagreb rejected Tomislav Karamarko�s suit against �eljko Peratović, a journalist and blogger, the Minister decided to deal with it on his own. Therefore, his lawyer Veljko Miljević filed a suit against Peratović for spreading disturbing rumours.�

A couple of days ago, Karamarko was interviewed for Večernji list. When talking about offensive articles appearing on the Internet and whether the police should be at disposal to people who feel hurt or slandered by the contents of that media, Karamarko said that the Internet is legally a gray area.

He also added that there were all sorts of things written about him on the Internet and pointed out that he was dealing with the problem in a way that he filed suits against two bloggers.

One of them is Peratović who received the formal decision of the Municipal Criminal Court in Zagreb yesterday. It said that he would be under investigation for spreading disturbing rumours. Peratović could not say which of his texts (and he published a series of articles on POA and its recent director) are the main cause for the suit since that data was not mentioned in the formal decision about conducting the investigation.�

Karamarko also accused Peratović of revealing a state secret and the State Attorney�s office acted according to the accusation. Peratović was then arrested, his apartment was raided and his computers were seized. Still, there are no legal proceedings against him nor have they given up prosecuting him. They rejected the suit for spreading disturbing rumours since, in their view, a larger number of people did not get upset by Peratović�s blog, without which there is no offence.

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Is Be�ker being targeted by the Minister?

Tomislav Karamarko, the interior minister, is allegedly suing Jutarnji list columnist Inoslav Be�ker. According to Be�ker, he received a note which said that the Minister had the intention to sue him because of the article in which he criticized secret services when POA�s chief was Karamarko. The main cause for that was the information that Radovan Karad�ić, while still at large, was moving around Dalmatia.��

Be�ker objected secret services the fact that instead of catching a fugitive they were dealing with journalists.

Ivanka Toma, Vecernji.hr, 15 December 2008

Karamarko sues journalist Peratović for accusations of protecting his friend�s killers

Tomislav Karamarko, the Croatian Minister of Internal Affairs, filed a suit against two independent Internet journalists- �eljko Peratović and Domagoj Margetić. According to Veljko Miljević, Karamarko’s lawyer, the suit was filed for spreading disturbing and false contents.�

Karamarko filed his first suit at the Municipal Criminal Court in June when he was the head of the Security Intelligence Agency. Yet, the General Attorney’s Office considered that at that moment there were no grounds for criminal prosecution. At the beginning of December, his lawyer made an addition to the suit and put everything into motion once again. Miljević explains that he did not want to file a private suit against Peratović (authorities will prosecute him, author�s comment) because it is not only Karamarko whose dignity has been damaged but people close to him as well since he fills the post of minister at the moment.

“Karamarko, protector of this and that”

When asked to name at least two examples explaining why Karamarko decided to insist upon the suit, despite the atmosphere caused by the police prosecution of a Facebooker, Miljević says:

�”As a man, Karamarko feels most hurt by Peratović claiming that he has covered up Milan Levar’s murderer. He says that his daughter asked him one day what murderers he was protecting�, says Miljević. �Secondly, there are all sorts of articles on his blog – ‘Stjepan Mesić, the President of the Republic, this’, ‘State General Attorney Mladen Bajić that’, ‘the head of SOA, Tomislav Karamarko, protector of this and that’�, enumerates Miljević.

He also added that it was not only the question of the Internet but he repeated the same on television, radio and printed media. Moreover, he claimed that Karamarko would not insist on the suit if the articles were not on the Internet for a longer period of time.�

For heaven’s sake, who killed Milan Levar?

Milan Levar was Peratović’s friend and the witness to war crimes in Gospić. He was also involved in the investigation regarding “Medački d�ep ‘93″, about which he was supposed to testify in The Hague. Levar claimed that Croatian secret service agencies had the right data and evidence of crimes. Levar pointed to general Mirko Norac and Tihomir Ore�ković, the secretary of the Lika Crisis Headquarters, as the chief suspects.��

Domagoj Margetić and Karamarko’s lawyer Veljko Miljević

They were convicted but lead an easy life in prison � every now and then, Ore�ković’s serve time is suspended, while Norac managed to meet the love of his life, conceive a child and get married at the same time while serving a sentence for the killings of Serbs. Following Levar’s murder in 2000, media reported how Josip Manolić, who coordinated the work of Croatian secret service agencies at the time of those unfortunate events in Gospić, when asked to say who killed Levar, answered:

“Well, those he named war criminals! At least, that is clear!”

Thus, a former secret agent indirectly pointed to this duo. It is important to mention that Karamarko is not the only (now former, author�s comment) head of the intelligence agency that Peratović has been in conflict with since his friend was murdered.

Secret service raided “paranoid” Peratović’s apartment

Murderers have remained unknown until today. For years, Peratović has been unable to find a job in �proper� media because, in journalists’ circles, he is perceived as a paranoiac obsessed by secret services. He was not present in the media until he was arrested for revealing a military secret on the blog. His entire documentation and all computers in the apartment were seized.

The search was requested on the basis of notes from the Security Intelligence Agency (SOA) official letter, the office of the director Tomislav Karamarko from 17 September 2007. The search warrant, as said in the statement of reasons, was issued at the request of the Zagreb Police Department dated 16 October this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs notes from 7 February, computer excerpts from Peratović’s blog.

Ana Benačić, Index.hr, 15.12.2008

Minister Sues Bloggers for Slander

Lawyer Veljko Miljevic said that the suit was filed for the continued and long term spreading of false and disturbing contents.

ZAGREB, CROATIA – The Croatian Minister of Internal Affairs Tomislav Karamarko sued a free journalist Zeljko Peratovic for slander. Karamarko announced filing suits against two bloggers, and the first � Peratovic � received his via post this morning.

“I do not know the contents of the suit, but I saw that the County State Attorney’s Office rejected the private suit by the chief of SOA (Security Intelligence Agency), and after he made an addition to it, the county infringement court brought a decision that the case be taken up by the judge of the County Court in Zagreb. It is possible that he sue me for the article by the journalist Malic, which was announced recently in Jutarnji List, in which they mention Marin Tomulic and Ivan Jurasinovic on my blog, but I do not know exactly. Karamarko is still placing pressure on people close to me, holds them under investigation and suggests that they should not talk with me. Because of similar things I am preparing to file a report against Karamarko, Mladen Bajic and USKOK (Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime), for the obstruction of some murder investigations, and against Zagreb’s police for illegal searches” said the journalist Peratovic. He added that, even though he often writes about Tomislav Karamarko, he does not have anything against him personally, and he only saw him twice in his life.

Long term and continued slander

“The suit is not for slander but for the spreading of false and disturbing contents, which in my opinion, has lastingly continued for a long time, which was a justified reason for starting a procedure. This law suit does not function like a private one. In such cases an offence report is filed and official responsibility, but the State Attorney’s Office mainly rejects such suits, so we filed a new indictment proposal.

As we find out, Karamarko will for the same reasons sue the journalist Domagoj Margetic.

Both bloggers have previously had problems with the police and secret services. Peratovic was even taken in for giving away state secrets, whilst Margetic ended up in the Hague for not respecting the ICTY, more precisely, for revealing the identity of the protected witnesses in the Blaskic case.

Mladen Prenc, Javno.com, Published: December 15, 2008

Hırvat araştırmacı gazeteciliği saldırı altında

13/06/2008

Ge�tiğimiz g�nlerde bir gazetecinin uğradığı saldırı, blogcuların Hırvatistan’daki basın �zg�rl�ğ�, ifade �zg�rl�ğ�, yargı sistemi ve polis d�zeniyle ilgili tepkilerine yol a�tı.

Southeast European Times i�in Zagreb’den Davor Konjikusi�’in derlemesi — 13/06/08

Jutarnji list gazetesi okuyan bir Hırvat g�r�l�yor. [Getty Images]

Uzun yıllardır g�rev yapan bir Hırvat adli muhabiri olan Dusan Miljus, 2 Haziran’da Zagreb’de ağır derecede dayak yedi. Ellerinde demir borular olan saldırganlar, Jutarnji list gazetesi i�in su� ve yolsuzluk olaylarını araştıran Miljus’a evinin �n�nde saldırdılar. Sarsıntı ge�iren ve eli kırılan gazeteci hala hastanede bulunuyor.

Jutarnji list İnternet sitesinde yazan Aida, “Farklı şivelerle konuşan insanlar arasındaki sokak saldırıları, kavgalar ve adam bı�aklama olayları Zagreb’in b�t�n iyi y�nlerini yok ederken, sokaklarda bizleri karanlık bir geleceğe g�t�rd�ğ� g�r�len alışıldık olmayan bir “karanlık moda” yaşanıyor.” diyor.

“Avrupa Komisyonu’nun saldırıyla ilgili eleştirilerine katılıyorum.” diyen yazar ş�yle devam ediyor: “Komisyonun devletin failleri bulması gerektiği y�n�ndeki talebine de katılıyorum. Miljus’a d�zenlenmiş bir saldırı ifade �zg�rl�ğ�ne de d�zenlenmiştir, bu y�zden bu aynı zamanda benim kişisel �zg�rl�ğ�me y�nelik de bir saldırıdır.”

Bir dayanışma ifadesi olarak, Hırvat gazeteciler bir h�k�met binasının �n�nde bir g�steri d�zenleyerek mafya babaları ve basın mensuplarına saldıranların tutuklanmasını talep ettiler. Gazeteciler, �zellikle “Dusko Miljus da kim?” diye soran Hırvatistan İ�işleri Bakanı Berislav Roncevi�’in tepkisini saldırgan buldular.

Araştırmacı gazeteci Zeljko Peratovi� 45 lines adlı blog sitesinde, “Hırvat Gazeteciler Derneği temsilcilerinden bazılarını �nerdiği gibi beyzbol sopalarını kapıp sokaklara d�k�lmek yerine, genel bir gazeteci grevi fikrini destekliyorum.” diyerek ş�yle devam etti: “Miljus’un hakkında yazdığı mafya bozuntusu g�c�n� silah, uyuşturucu ve insan ka�ak�ılığından alıyor.”

Hırvatistan’daki pop�ler Mracni blog sitesi de, “Kalem kılı�tan keskindir, kılı� kısa, kalem de yeteri kadar keskinse.” başlığı altında b�t�n bir b�l�m�n� olaya ayırdı.

Miljus’a “su� faaliyetleri ve bunların �lke �zerindeki etkisi hakkında yazı yazma kararlılığına sahip az sayıdaki kişiden biri olarak” �vg�de bulunan blog, gangsterlerin misillemelerinin fazla bildik bir şey olduğundan yakınıyor. “Bir zamanlar, Igor Racenovi� zamanında, Zagreb Karayolları kuruluşunun m�d�r� kendi kuruluşu i�indeki şaibeli iş ilişkilerini araştırmak �zereyken d�v�lm�şt�.”

Blog, Miljus’un da “sopanın g�c�n� hissetmesini” birisinin tekerine �omak soktuğunun kanıtı olduğunu da ekliyor.

Mracni blog, “Devlet ve kurumları d�zg�n işlemeye başlayana kadar, mahkemeler adil �alışmaya başlayana kadar ve su� faaliyetlerinin sonu�ları bunları teşvik edenlerin cesaretini kıracak kadar ağırlaşana kadar, birazcık daha iyi ve daha g�zel bir toplumda yaşamak isteyenler dayak yiyecek.” diye bitiriyor.

Rom�nă:Eu sprijin ideea unei greve generale a jurnaliştilor

Македонски:

Jас ја поддржувам идејата на генерален новинарски штрајк

Ελληνική:

Οτηρίζω την ιδέα μιας γενικής απεργίας από μεριάς δημοσιογράφων

English:

I support the idea of a general journalists’ strike

Hrvatski:

Podupirem ideju općeg �trajka novinara

Български:

Подкрепям идеята за обща журналистическа стачка

Shqip:

Un� p�rkrah iden� e grev�s s� p�rgjith�shme t� gazetar�ve

Government of the Republic of Croatia
Trg svetog Marka 2
10 000 Zagreb
To the attention of: Dr Ivo Sanader, the Prime Minister
Dear Sir,
I am passing this civil petition on to you regarding the conduct of the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA). The petition has also been forwarded to the Committee for Internal Politics and National Security and the Council for Civil Supervision of Intelligence Agencies. I would appreciate if you also, in accordance with your statutory authorities, joined in the stopping of a years-long SOA persecution that I have been exposed to. I am willing to inform international officials and the proper journalists associations and associations for civil rights protection, which are of vital Croatian national interests, on the results of your engagement and parliamentary investigation.
Yours faithfully,
Freelance journalist and blogger
�eljko Peratović
Zvonigradska 33
10 000 Zagreb
Zagreb, 14 March, 2008.

Croatian Parliament
Trg Svetog Marka 6
10 000 Zagreb
Council for Civil Supervision of Security-Intelligence Agencies
Mile Ćulumović, the presidentParliamentary Committee for Internal Politics and National Security
Ranko Ostojić, the president

Subject: CIVIL PETITION AGAINST SOA CONDUCT

Dear Sir, my name is �eljko Peratović. I am a freelance journalist and blogger from Zagreb. I am addressing you so that you, in accordance with your statutory obligations, take necessary actions regarding the protection of my basic human and professional rights and freedoms, Pursuant to Article 38 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia. Following the conducted parliamentary investigation, in 2005 the Council and the Committee jointly concluded that �there is a reasonable doubt that POA (Counter-Intelligence Agency) violated those rights�. The same have been systematically violated to date by SOA, a POA legal successor.

As you have probably learnt from the media, on 17 October, 2007, criminal investigators from the Zagreb Police Department searched my under-age daughter’s flat in which I live. I was arrested under the suspicion of disclosing (publishing) state and military secrets.

Besides DORH unofficial statements claiming that my arrest was the result of � a nonsense in the police� and president Stjepan Mesić saying that it was the police case so he did not want to declare himself since the police is not in his competence, I have been claiming from the start that the intimidation my family and I have been exposed to was initiated, supervised and mostly conducted by SOA.
Apart from indications and information I have personally received as the confirmation of the above mentioned, last week the following Internet sites:
http://cnn.blog.hr/2008/03/1624367674/soa-zeljko-peratovic-drzavni-je-neprijatelj-broj-jedan.html and http://pollitika.com/soa-zeljko-peratovic-drzavni-je-neprijatelj-broj-jedan,
published an article with the SOA accompanying documents, which, if authentic, confirm my suspicions I was stating regarding the role SOA had in the violation of my human and professional rights and freedoms.
Therefore, I request from the already mentioned Council and Committee to set up a joint commission that will verify the authenticity of documents published in the afore mentioned blog addresses, or, to be more accurate, located in the following hosting addresses:
http://img410.imageshack.us/my.php?image=str1kz9.gif ,
http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=str2am3.gif i http://www.divshare.com/download/3945111-7c5 and establish whether SOA has violated my, as well as the rights and freedoms of the other �suspects� who have been said to comment on 45 lines: �eljko Bagić, Romano Bolković and Vjekoslav Brajović, and, accordingly, ask for the responsibility (including criminal liability) of the competent ones or establish that my objections have been unfounded.

The published documents point to SOA’s repeated and multi-type breaking the law. Besides being suspected of disclosing already released state and military secrets, which is a precedent as well as nonsense in the past repressive practice of the young Croatian country, I have also been incriminated by an accusation that I �was jeopardizing the safety of SOA employees by making their names and positions known�. That is nothing but a doubt used to divert attention from the fact that I only mentioned the SOA employees� identity in the context of articles on nepotism and corruption in the process of reorganization of the security-intelligence system and the personnel policy of Tomislav Karamarko, the SOA director. It is also one of Tomislav Karamarko’s personal motives for insisting on breaking the law and violation of my rights and freedoms.

The document titled � The analysis of the article/commentary background on blog 45 lines� clearly shows that SOA has continued to vilify me with its �interventions on blog�, and even to suspect me of contributing to the Milan Levar, a witness to war crimes in Gospić, murder. On many occasions, I wrote and stated that Tomislav Karamarko, the current SOA director, who was the head of UNS (Office for National Security) at the time and after the murder of Milan Levar, participated in the obstruction of preliminary investigation activities connected to the mentioned murder. I hold that the �SOA intervention� on my blog saying that �I disclosed Milan Levar’s movement to suspects� is a direct pressure that SOA exerted on me in order to keep quiet as a potential witness in the investigation of Milan Levar’s murder. The comparison of the alleged SOA document and �SOA intervention� on 45 lines can be seen on the website:

http://peratovic.blog.hr/2008/03/1624374633/koga-bloga-soa.html.

Update, 16. 04. 2008:Amnesty International is particularly concerned about the slow pace of prosecutions for war crimes in Croatia and the apparent ethnic bias of investigations, most involving only Croatian Serb perpetrators. The organization is also worried about harassment and intimidation of victims and witnesses, as well as journalists reporting on war crimes. Croatian authorities have not made accountability for war crimes a clear political priority. The EU has a responsibility within the accession process to demand that they do so.

While in Brussels, Irene Khan will also introduce the screening of an Amnesty International film documenting impunity for war crimes in Croatia and address the European Policy Centre on EU asylum policies in the context of security.Amnesty.org, 15. 04. 2008

Parts of AI’s documentary: “Croatia: A Wall Of Silence” about cases Gospić, Levar and Peratović. Full video you must see under link.�

I have indirect information that SOA was illegally involved in the police procedures regarding my case. According to some sources close to SOA, Tomislav Milčić, the chief of staff, was personally appointed by Tomislav Karamarko to run the operation �45 lines�. He was allegedly involved in the illegal search of my personal things, during which my digital camera’s memory card on which a part of the interview with the former agent of the Yugoslav secret agency SID, Josip Majerski, was destroyed (see http://peratovic.blog.hr/2008/01/1623938621/ipak-me-policija-naljutila-obracam-se-hhou.html).

According to my sources, Tomislav Milčić does not have proper qualifications needed for the job position to which he was appointed by Tomislav Karamarko, the SOA director. There is publicly available information according to which the German administration of justice, at some time, expressed its disapproval with the SOA employee, Tomislav Milčić, taking part in the Croatian authorities’ noncooperation regarding international legal help in the case of Krunoslav Prates being on trial as an accessory to the murder of emigrant Stjepan Đureković. These days, one of the German judges said that he would turn the Republic of Croatia to competent EU institutions on charges of the above mentioned noncooperation. Therefore, judging by this example of the head of staff in SOA, it is obvious that not only SOA statements, claiming that my articles are directed against national interests � accession of Croatia to the Euro-Atlantic integrations, are unfounded but, on the contrary. It is SOA conduct which is directed against accession of Croatia to the Euro-Atlantic Integrations.

There is a reasonable doubt that in my case, it is sources from SOA who were leaking information to the media. For better understanding, please check on the articles in Slobodna Dalmacija -
http://arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20071020/novosti02.asp and Nacional – http://www.nacional.hr/articles/view/39138/.

Therefore, I would like the addressees to carry out the parliamentary investigation into this case as soon as possible. Due to SOA illegal conduct, besides the above mentioned rights and freedoms pursuant to Article 38 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, I have also been denied the right to work and I am afraid for my family and my physical existence in Croatia. I suggest the following to be summoned as potential witnesses:
1. �eljko Peratović
2. Tomislav Karamarko
3. Josip Buljević
4. Tomislav Milčić
5. Romano Bolković
6. �eljko Bagić
7. Vjekoslav Brajović
8. Jasna Babić
9. Berislav Jelinić

Due to multiple conflicts of interest which I am willing to explain in detail during the parliamentary hearing, it is my recommendation to prevent Mr Tomislav Matijević, the Committee secretary, of having any contact with the information of this petition.

Yours faithfully,

Freelance journalist and blogger

�eljko Peratović

Zvonigradska 33

10 000 Zagreb

Note: I have informed the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia, the Government of the Republic of Croatia, CHC and CJA about this petition.

Croatian Journalists Association – News

�

Croatian Journalists Association press release, March 17, 2008-03-18

�

We support �eljko Peratović petition

�

The Croatian Journalists Association supports its member �eljko Peratović, a freelance journalist and blogger, petition he has sent to the Council for Civil Supervision of Security-Intelligence Agencies and the Croatian Parliament�s Committee for Internal Politics and National Security, asking them to protect his human and professional rights and freedoms. These days, an alleged SOA document has been published. If the document is authentic, it follows that the SOA has been incriminating �eljko Peratović for his writing. Besides that, another implication is that the SOA has been intervening on blogs using its own comments and enquiring about the identity of those commenting blogs. We appeal to the Council for Civil Supervision of Security-Intelligence Agencies and the Croatian Parliament�s Committee to look into the authenticity of the aforementioned document and protect Peratović�s human and professional rights.

�

�

Zdenko Duka, president

Саша Перкович, Владимир Путин и Степан Месич (Загреб, 24.6.2007)

Ирина Бороган /Agentura.Ru/

Россия далеко не единственная страна, где власти обвиняют журналистов, чьи расследования слишком далеко зашли, в разглашении государственной тайны. В Хорватии, где гражданская война пока не стала далеким прошлым, прибегают к тем же методам, особенно когда дело касается журналистов, расследующих военные преступления.

Журналиста Желько Ператовича местные спецслужбы преследуют уже несколько лет. Два года назад его обвинили в работе на английскую разведку, а осенью 2007 года, накануне выборов, журналиста решили полностью обезоружить: самого арестовали на пару суток, а из его дома полиция вынесла компьютеры и все рабочие материалы. Ператович писал о том, что спецслужбы и руководители страны причастны к массовым убийствам сербов или покрывают военных преступников, разыскиваемых Международным трибуналом по бывшей Югославии.

Арест и обыск – за ведение блога

Полиция нагрянула домой к Ператовичу рано утром 17 октября. Приказав его жене и маленькой дочке не шевелиться, они обыскали квартиру и забрали 4 компьютера, мобильный телефон, записную книжку, сотни документов, кассет и CD. �Это все, что скопилось в результате моей 15-летней деятельности и теперь я вообще не могу работать, — сообщил �Агентуре� хорватский журналист. — Меня арестовали, обвинив в том, что я раскрыл гостайну в своем интернет-блоге �45 lines�, допросили, продержали двое суток и отпустили. Теперь моим делом будет заниматься Генеральная прокуратура�. Блог Желько стал вести не от хорошей жизни, а после того, как лишился работы в правительственном издании �Вестник� из-за скандала вокруг поисков экс-генерала хорватской армии Анте Готовины, обвиняемого в военных преступлениях. Желько писал о том, что власти Хорватии вместо того, чтобы выдать Готовину Международному трибуналу поддерживают с ним отношения.

На этот раз, считает Ператович, истинной причиной его ареста стало расследование деятельности президента Хорватии Степана Месича, руководителя Службы национальной безопасности Томислава Карамарка и генерального прокурора Младена Баича, а также гибели Милaна Левара. Левара, выступавшего свидетелем на Международном трибунале по бывшей Югославии, взорвали в автомобиле в 2000 году в хорватской деревне Госпич. Так получилось, что Ператович был последним человеком, который слышал его голос. Левар обладал информацией о том, кто виноват в исчезновении десятков мирных сербов в 1991 году из Госпича, занятого хорватскими военными подразделениями.

Но ни расправа с Леваром, ни обвинения в предательстве со стороны соотечественников, считающих, что военные преступления могли совершать только сербы, но никак не хорваты, не остановили журналиста, и он продолжал выяснять подробности трагедии. Именно за это расследование в 2003 году Ператович получил от организации �Репортеры без границ� премию, а от властей � уголовное дело. Его блог начинается со строчки: �Хорватский журналист Желько Ператович расследует военные преступления и оргпреступность в Юго-восточной Европе�. Там Ператович поместил информацию, в которой сообщалось о видеозаписи с показаниями свидетелей трагедии в Госпиче. Эти люди обвиняли в причастности к исчезновениям сербов Дарко Милиновича, одного из лидеров правящей партии �Хорватское демократическое содружество�, а также бывшего министра обороны Гойко Шушка (скончался). Видимо, такая постановка вопроса к тому же накануне парламентских выборов (которые прошли в декабре) взбесила власти Хорватии и они решили пойти в атаку.

�Я думаю, они арестовали меня в отместку за статьи и пытались таким образом обнаружить мои источники в госструктурах и СМИ. Все это из-за того, что я вскрывал связи политиков первого звена с военными преступлениями 90-х годов�, – считает сам Желько Ператович. Правда, на наш взгляд Ператовичу еще повезло. Ведь Хорватия стремится в Евросоюз, вопрос свободы слова для нее очень важен, а по поводу ареста Ператовича ОБСЕ и общественные организации подняли такой шум, что он остудил горячее желание хорватских политков приструнить расследователя. Известно, что в России происходит с журналистами, которые пытаются вскрывать деятельность преступников в погонах: корреспондента �МК� Дмитрия Холодова и обозревателя �Новой газеты� Анну Политковскую просто убили.

За публикацию статей – обвинение в шпионаже

Если сейчас хорватские власти пытаются нейтрализовать Ператовича, ограничив его возможности работать, то в прошлый раз они пытались скомпрометировать журналиста, объявив его агентом английской разведки МI6.

Несколько лет назад Ператовича и шестерых его коллег обвинили в том, что они по заданию британской разведки распространяли ложную информацию о местонахождении военного преступника генерала Анте Готовины, который значится 3-им номером в списке Международного трибунала по бывшей Югославии. Бывшего генерала обвиняют в преступлениях против сербского мирного населения во время военных действий в начале 90-х. В частности в том, что по его приказу было убито 150 и изгнано около 500 тысяч сербов.

Тем не менее для многих людей, включая действующих политиков, он является национальным героем. Когда в декабре 2005 года Готовину в конце-концов арестовали на Канарских островах, в Хорватии прошли массовые демонстрации в его поддержку. Понятно, почему в таких обстоятельствах поймать Готовину на территории Хорватии не удавалось на протяжении многих лет, но поскольку его арест был важным условием для вступления Хорватии в Евросоюз, охота за генералом превратилась в главное событие политической жизни страны.

Неуловимый генерал годами не сходил с первых полос газет – то спецслужбы выйдут на его след, то предотвратят похищение его детей. В 2003 году, после того, как интервью Готовины опубликовал местный еженедельник �Национал�, президент страны Степан Месич публично предложил генералу сделку: Готовина приходит к нему в кабинет и дает показания для трибунала, а президент гарантирует ему личную безопасность. Сделка так и не состоялась, а крайними оказались журналисты, которые расследовали обстоятельства этого интервью и пришли к выводу, что Готовина встречался с главным редактором еженедельника в столице страны Загребе, а к организации этой встречи причастны спецслужбы. Эти публикации сильно навредили имиджу хорватских властей, регулярно уверявших Евросоюз, что делают все возможное для ареста Готовины.

Журналистам вскоре отомстили. 1 марта 2004 года Франьо Турек, тогдашний директор службы контрразведки, представил хорватскому правительству данные о семерых журналистах местных СМИ, которые в своих публикациях распространяли дезинформацию о местонахождении генерала Готовины по заданию английской разведки. (Британская разведка была выбрана потому, что Соединенное королевство больше других стран критиковало хорватские власти за нежелание привлекать к ответственности своих военных преступников).

Уголовное дело власти возбуждать не стали, поскольку никаких доказательств шпионской деятельности журналистов у шефа контрразведки не было. Но в проправительственной прессе появились заметки о том, МI6, действуя через завербованных журналистов, организовало целую сеть осведомителей в стране, и прослушивала граждан Хорватии, среди которых были и политики. А в качестве прикрытия заговорщики якобы использовали тему поимки Готовины.

Кроме того, были названы имена 5 действующих сотрудников МI6, завербовавших хорватских журналистов. Можно представить, в каком положении оказались журналисты, на которых �повесили� шпионаж в пользу Англии. Неважно, что обвинения не имели никакого отношения к деятельности журанлистов, в результате скандала даже The Washington Times стала писать о работе Ператовича и его коллег на МI6 как о доказанном факте.

Тем не менее, Ператовичу удалось тогда опровергнуть обвинения, во многом благодаря международным правозащитным организациям, и даже возбудить парламентское расследование по поводу давления на прессу.

В конце концов, твердость хорватских журналистов в том, что военные преступления, даже если они совершены своими же соотечественниками, должны быть расследованы, увенчалась успехом � военный преступник Анте Готовина находится под судом.

Можно ли быть объективным

Несмотря на то, что здесь речь идет об очевидных преступлениях военных против мирного населения, таких журналистов как Желько их противники всегда обвиняют в пристрастности и работе на одну партию. Многим трудно поверить, что журналист просто собирает все факты, надеясь восстановить картину происшедшего и привлечь к ответственности тех, кто на самом деле виновен, а не руководствуется желанием повесить всех собак на кого попало.

Между тем, Желько Ператович публиковал на своем блоге информацию о том, что некоторые обвинения против Готовины надуманы. В сентябре он поместил информацию Марина Томулича, бывшего снабженца армии Хорватии, который утверждал, что некоторые обвинения против Готовины не имеют никаких оснований.

Так Готовине, кроме военных преступлений, вменяют участие в ограблении парижского ювелирного магазина в начале 80-х. (В молодости он служил в Иностранном легионе и некоторое время жил во Фрнации). Томулич сообщил, что один из грабителей отрицает участие Готовины в налете, и признает,что в начале 90-х дал показания против него под давлением, чтобы ему скостили срок.

Кроме того, Ператович обнародовал сведения о том, что французский судья, который в 1992 году занимался делом об ограблении магазина, впоследствии готовил материалы для Карлы дель Понте, прокурора Международного трибунала по бывшей Югославии. На блоге журналиста также была опубликована информация о покушении на Томулича, в котором замешаны, по мнению информатора, французские спецслужбы, не заинтересованные в разглашении этой информации. Все эти данные, отнюдь не свидетельствующие в пользу международного правосудия и обнажающие сложную политическую подоплеку суда над военными преступниками, Ператович не боялся размещать в своем блоге.

P.S. Компьютеры и рабочие материалы Ператовичу на момент публикации так и не вернули

В Хорватии по подозрению в раскрытии гостайны арестован журналист

18/ 10/ 2007 БЕЛГРАД, 18 окт – РИА Новости, Николай Пасхин.

Хорватский журналист Желько Ператович арестован в Загребе по подозрению в раскрытии государственной тайны. Об этом сообщило в четверг белградское агентство Фонет со ссылкой на загребские СМИ.

По информации СМИ, Ператович был задержан в среду около полудня и препровожден в штаб-квартиру криминальной полиции для неформальной беседы. Утром в четверг, по свидетельству его супруги, в квартиру журналиста явились полицейские с ордером на обыск.

В результате обыска полицейские изъяли три лэп-топа и домашний компьютер, а также документы, относящиеся, по их мнению, к делу. Как заявила пресс-секретарь полиции Загреба Александра Люба, в расследовании этого дела полиция активно сотрудничает с прокуратурой.

Желько Ператович, бывший журналист популярной газеты “Глобус” и некоторых других периодических изданий, в последнее время публиковал статьи, фотоснимки и видеоинформацию на своем блоге “45 lines“. Публикации журналиста чаще всего касались проблем организованной преступности, военных преступлений и деятельности спецслужб.