Reporters Without Borders condemns ruling against journalist
Reporters Without Borders has condemns the prison sentence of 2 years and 3 months handed down by a Serbian court on the freelance journalist Stefan Cvetkovic.
Wednesday, 22.03.2017.
12:44
Reporters Without Borders condemns ruling against journalist
Cvetkovic was prosecuted after three officials of the ruling Serb Progressive Party filed complaints against him. He was found guilty by a court in the city of Vrsac, north-east of Belgrade, on March 14, which also fined him more than 2 million dinars (17,000 euros).Cvetkovic is a well-known critic of the local authorities, against whom he filed a complaint of misuse of public funds in 2014, and recently raised questions about the role of the three officials in various criminal matters.
The journalists, who has received a number of death threats, said he would appeal against the verdict, which he saw as a new attempt to intimidate him.
“This verdict is unfair and disproportionate,” said Pauline Adès-Mével, the head of RSF’s European Union-Balkans desk. “Since 2012, defamation is no longer punishable by imprisonment.”
Serbia is ranked 59th of 180 countries in the 2016 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index.
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