Letter for friends from exile

Dear friend

I will try to write to you as short as possible, because there are many new information. If something is unclear, please let me know, and I will explain it to you.

Yesterday we came back from our 2-week Croatian holiday to Switzerland. Our daughter is going to the kindergarden again. We are now here till the end of April, when there is again a 2 week holiday.

As I told you, I had a hearing at the court as former employee against Vjesnik because of an unfair dismissal. I hope to think that this trail could be settle down in the following year and very well for me. There is no possibility to I give the job back, because the newspaper Vjesnik is not anymore in possesion by the firm Vjesnik (the firm doesn’t hire journalists anymore), but I hope to get a financial compensation.

When we were in Zagreb, I got another warrant for the court. He had to come to the higher court because the state attorney (under Karamarko’s influence and demand to the court) has sent a claim regarding secrecy breach during the course of investigation.
All this is another way for Karamarko to oppress on me. The court should had dismissed the action regarding the false informations and now this action regarding secrecy breach). The hearing was postponed for the 22. of March, because I could not be in Zagreb 02.03. I had to drive my family to Switzerland.

I have no new information if the higher court set an verdict to the Karamarko against my case (for false accusations….). The district court dismissed Karamarkos action (for procedural reasons) and Karamarko to a higher court.

As you know, our new croatian president is Ivo Josipović. I am very dissapointed with his first moves. Half of the office is taken from the old president Mesic. The worse example is the old-new (same) position of Saša Perković. He has still his job as advisor for national security. Josipović explained this as follows: he claimed in public that Perković junior helped him during the presidental campaign to protect his security. Allegedly some ex spies made some files with various rumours and lies about the presidental candidates and sent these files to some newspapers and all the presidental candidate headquaters. But no newspapers published these files and there were no harm. But obviosly Josipović was the only candidate who asked directly Mesić for help and Mesić gave him Perković to solve the problem. The very famous and knwon professor Žarko Puhovski claims in an interview that Saša Perković infringe the law, because he is not allowed to help one of the candidate, he is not allowed to deal with information. But this is not the only sin of Saša Perković. I rember him in the Zagorac case (Zagorec is a war weapon smuggler who was accusated for stealing some diamonds), when Saša went to Vienna in 2007 (without the knowledge of the state attorney) and wanted to persuade Zagorec to come back to Croatia. He offered him privileges and no prosecution. Zagorec was enough smart to videotape this meeting together with the austrian police and austrian secret service. All the croatian news portals published this story. But the new international scandal is yet to come.

The German authorities issues an european arrest warrant against Josip Perković. It will be interesting to see how Josipović will react if this warrant comes to Croatia.

In March 2008 I sent a petition to president Mesić, premier Sanader and to the president of parlament committee for national security, Ranko Ostojić, where he gave evidence that the croatian secret service (while Karamarko was its chief) not only iniciated my arrest but wrote on my blog under false names and wrote defamated textes, where they accused I to be responsable for Levar’s death. Nobody answered on my petition, and the Committee didn’t discused about the petition allthough it was its duty.

Dear friend, if you are still interested in my case, I beg you to contact the new president Josipović, the premier Kosor and the president of the parlament committe, Ranko Ostojić. You mentioned an open letter to Karamarko?!

If there will be no improvment for us, we will be forced to stay in Switzerland for another few years. I had received another anonymous calls (with threats as if you hear a knife rasping on metalground ) after he gave an interview to the Radio 101 about Perković and Josipović. There were three such calls, anonymous. About the old threats (on peratovic.blog.hr), I had notified the police in 2008, nobody from the police and the state attorney informed me if there are any news.

In April a freelance journalist Zeljko Peratovic received two death threats posted on his blog. One of the threats was investigated by the police and the State Prosecutor’s Office, but the results were not made public. It is alleged that the other death threat was not investigated.

Best regards,
Željko from Switzerland

45lines, Zuerich, 01. 03. 2010

Le journaliste Zeljko Peratovic victime de harcčlement juridique

Reporters sans frontičres dénonce les poursuites ouvertes le 14 janvier 2008 ŕ l’encontre du journaliste Zeljko Peratovic, ŕ la demande du ministre de l’Intérieur Tomislav Karamarko, qui l’accuse d’avoir contrevenu ŕ l’article 322/1 KZA du code pénal prescrivant une peine de prison d’un an et des amendes « pour toute personne qui diffuserait des informations de nature ŕ inquiéter la population ».

Sur son blog (peratovic.net et peratovic.blog.hr), dans des courriers adressés aux autorités juridiques nationales, et dans diverses interventions publiques, Zeljko Peratovic a dénoncé l’obstruction pratiquée par Tomislav Karamarko dans l’enquęte sur la mort de Milan Levar, un témoin protégé du Tribunal pénal international pour l’ex-Yougoslavie (TPIY) décédé dans l’explosion de sa voiture, le 28 aoűt 2000 ŕ Gospic. Une enquęte a été ouverte, dans laquelle Zeljko Peratovic a été entendu comme témoin, puisqu’il figure parmi les derničres personnes ŕ avoir vu Milan Levar en vie. En violation du secret de l’instruction, le procureur a ensuite révélé l’identité de Zeljko Peratovic

« Le ministre Karamarko se dit victime de diffamation, et prétend que je veux inquiéter la population. Il poursuit cependant un autre but. Au-delŕ des amendes, le tribunal peut surtout décider de m’interdire, pour une durée indéterminée, de diffuser de l’information. Il me priverait de fait d’exercer toutes activités journalistiques, sur mon blog ou dans d’autres médias. Ceci m’interdirait aussi de poursuivre mes efforts pour que l’on découvre les commanditaires de l’assassinat de Milan Levar. Certains misent également sur la prescription dans ce dossier. Me réduire au silence constituerait une voie possible pour y parvenir », a déclaré Zaljko Peratovic.

« Il semble que les enquętes menées par la presse sur les crimes de guerre ne soient pas les bienvenues dans le contexte d’adhésion ŕ l’Union européenne. Le ministre de l’Intérieur devrait plutôt s’attacher ŕ la progression des enquętes sur l’assassinat d’un témoin protégé, plutôt que de s’attaquer ŕ ceux qui refusent de voir l’oubli et l’impunité s’installer », a déclaré Reporters sans frontičres.

« Les poursuites établies sur base de l’article 322/1 sont ridicules et irrecevables. La notion « d’information de nature ŕ inquiéter la population » constitue une vision obsolčte de la liberté d’expression, incompatible avec les standards démocratiques européens auxquels la Croatie devra se conformer si elle veut rejoindre l’Union européenne », a ajouté l’organisation.

« Enfin, si les poursuites contre Zeljko Peratovic devaient ętre maintenues, nous insistons pour que les prochaines auditions de chacune des parties ne soit plus effectuées ŕ huis clos. », a conclu Reporters sans frontičres.

En 2008, Zeljko Peratovic a reçu des menaces de mort par la voie de commentaires publiés sur son blog. Le 17 octobre 2007, il avait été arręté ŕ son domicile et placé en détention, pour “divulgation de secret d’Etat“. Le journaliste avait publié 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 années 90. Il avait, notamment, évoqué l’existence d’un témoignage vidéo mettant en cause un des vice-présidents du Parlement (M. Darko MILINOVIC, momentane Ministre de la Santé et de la Protection sociale) et le défunt ministre de la Défense, Gojko Susak.. A 42 ans, Zeljko Peratovic, risquait jusqu’ŕ trois ans d’emprisonnement. Si les poursuites contre le journaliste n’ont pas progressé, les charges retenues contre lui n’ont pas non plus été levées. Les archives qui avaient été saisies ŕ cette occasion ne lui ont toujours pas été rendues.

Zeljko Peratovic a travaillé pour différents quotidiens dont le dernier en date est Vjesnik. Ses enquętes sur les crimes de guerre lui ont valu de graves difficultés. Il a perdu son emploi, a été agressé et est considéré comme un traître par une partie de la population, qui refuse l’idée męme que des crimes aient pu ętre commis par des Croates pendant la guerre.

En 2003, il a reçu le prix de la liberté de la presse de la section autrichienne de Reporters sans frontičres.

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

THE POLICE ADMINISTRATION OF ZAGREB
Organized crime Departmen, Zagreb, Heinzlova 89

SUBJECT: Peratovic Zeljko – criminal charge, supplement to criminal charge

I

Zeljko Peratovic, the journalist in Vjesnik, submited on 22 July 2005. to VIIIth Police station criminal charge against unknown persons, who have threatened the appointed with death. This station has passed on the criminal charge to Organized crime Department of Police administration of Zagreb.
The wife of Zeljko Peratovic, Nada Peratovic, is a citizen of Switzerland and she informed about those threats to Zeljko Peratovic, embassy of Switzerland in Zagreb and she is in constant contact with authorities of that embassy.

Towards cognitions of Zeljko Peratovic, the threats are sent by e-mail from Switzerland in Solothurn. And death threats were sent by Max Soldo (nick name: Ante_Gotovina).
Enclosed we send you the threats sent by e-mail (8 pages).

II

We ask from you to pass on the copy of criminal charge to attorney’s office, which Zeljko Peratovic submited on record by VIII Police station in Zagreb. We also please that this attorney’s office get informed about this case and in which stage of process is criminal charge, which was submited by Zeljko Peratovic.

attorney
Luka Susak
Iblerov trg 6/2, Zagreb

In Zagreb, 29 July 2005.