Press release

Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) condemns attempt of Ivica Vulić, Novska City Council president, to ban reporting from that institution of local administration

16.10.2017.

On Thursday, October 12, 2017, Novska City Council president asked journalist Zdravko Sever to leave the premises where City Council had its session. The reason, he claimed, was that the journalist did not have accreditation. But no journalist had it, as accreditations had never been issued for the Council sessions.

Even more, our colleague Sever informed us that no accreditations had ever been issued for any event in Novska in last 41 years.

Zdravko Sever refused to leave the premises even after Vulić’s threat he would call for the police to take him out. After 10-minute break and after consulting Novska mayor Marin Piletić the Council president went on with the session, but announced that the Rules of procedure of City Council would be changed.

Accurate Rules of procedure states that the City Council sessions are open not only to journalists but even to citizens. CJA alerts Novska City Council president and its members that any change of the Rules that might make impossible for journalists to report about the Council work under same conditions would constitute inadmissible pressure against journalists in performing their basic role of informing the public about the work of state institutions.

Saša Leković, CJA president for the CJA Executive Board

On Thursday, October 12, 2017, Novska City Council president asked journalist Zdravko Sever to leave the premises where City Council had its session. The reason, he claimed, was that the journalist did not have accreditation. But no journalist had it, as accreditations had never been issued for the Council sessions.

Even more, our colleague Sever informed us that no accreditations had ever been issued for any event in Novska in last 41 years.

Zdravko Sever refused to leave the premises even after Vulić’s threat he would call for the police to take him out. After 10-minute break and after consulting Novska mayor Marin Piletić the Council president went on with the session, but announced that the Rules of procedure of City Council would be changed.

Accurate Rules of procedure states that the City Council sessions are open not only to journalists but even to citizens. CJA alerts Novska City Council president and its members that any change of the Rules that might make impossible for journalists to report about the Council work under same conditions would constitute inadmissible pressure against journalists in performing their basic role of informing the public about the work of state institutions.

Saša Leković, CJA president for the CJA Executive Board
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