HRT, which was founded by the Republic of Croatia, in order to be a public institution and public service for the citizens, from 2018 until today has proven to be a serial prosecutor of its journalists and editors, as well as all our other colleagues who would dare to question the work and activities of those who it was governed by. The culmination of these prosecutions arrived with the lawsuits against the journalists’ association founded in 1910, as well as its president. Therefore, we believe that Hrvoje Zovko and his family deserve not only the apology of HRT Director General Robert šveb and all those who participated in this persecution, which has not been recorded in democratic societies, but also the establishment of an independent parliamentary committee, considering that the costs of such insane processes will be paid by the citizens of this country, who regularly pay their subscriptions to HRT!

We would also like to advise the Parliamentary Committee for Information, Informatization and Media to put this topic on the agenda of its session as soon as possible, as well as the current management of HRT, because the reasonings of court rulings show that former director Kazimir Bačić and current director Robert šveb have been misinforming and falsely informing them about the situation on HRT. Namely, a little over a month ago, after the court confirmed with a final verdict that Hrvoje Zovko rightly said that censorship reigns on the national public service, the judge of the Municipal Labor Court in Zagreb Jelica Pandurić has now issued a verdict:

"The reasons for the said termination of the employment contract are probably in the events that preceded the procedure of termination of the employment contract with the plaintiff, which the plaintiff pointed out as the president of CJA, and which the employer tried to cover up (reported under the name and surname of sexual harassment 23 No. 9-Pr-13310 / 2021-80 employee of the defendant by the director of operations of the defendant), i.e. to prevent the plaintiff from pointing out such things and talking about them. "

Also, in the explanation of the verdict, Judge Jelica Pandurić points out that "until 2018 there were no objections to the work of Hrvoje Zovko, either from superiors or colleagues" and that his ordeal began in June 2018, when he was elected president of CJA:

"From September 2018 until today, the prosecutor (Hrvoje Zovko, A/N), The Croatian Journalists' Association and members of the CJA have been exposed to a series of (unfounded) lawsuits by the defendant (HRT, A/N)."

So, besides the "visible motive for revenge and punishment" of Hrvoje Zovko and other active members of the professional organization is "by the public service", then in addition to rigged trials, we can talk about politically motivated lawsuits executed by HRT leaders to silence its critics, and at the same time, misinform the public and the Committee for Information, Informatization and the Media about their motives for initiating lawsuits. We must remind you of the fact that the former director general of HRT Kazimir Bačić, who initiated a series of criminal and civil lawsuits against Zovko, our colleagues from HRT and other media and members of the CJA, one of which is for "violation of reputation and honour of HRT "(!), was removed from office due to suspicion of committing a criminal offense, yet still enjoys all the benefits of a work position at HRT.

Therefore, the establishment of an independent parliamentary committee that would determine the real situation on HRT, as well as determine individual responsibility for the true disgrace brought to this public institution and the degradation of the public service founded by the Republic of Croatia, would be a logical act undertaken by any responsible owner or manager, given that the expenses of all previously listed lawsuits will be covered by the tax payers of this very country.

For CJA’s Executive Board

Goran Gazdek and Branko Mijić,

vice presidents of the Croatian Journalists' Association