Serbia

2005

  

Serbian soldiers convicted in 1991 slaughter of civilians, journalists

New York, December 13, 2005—The War Crimes Chamber of the district court in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, convicted 14 former soldiers Monday on charges of torturing and executing Croatian civilians, including at least two journalists, in neighboring Croatia in 1991, according to international press reports. The defendants were given prison sentences ranging from five to…

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SERBIA and MONTENEGRO

JULY 14, 2005 Posted: July 18, 2005 B92 THREATENED An anonymous caller told a security guard at the Belgrade-based independent radio and television station that a bomb would explode in an hour inside the station’s offices because of its “anti-Serb campaign,” according to local news reports and CPJ interviews.

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Belgrade broadcaster forced to evacuate following threat

New York, July 15, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a bomb threat made late Thursday night against the Belgrade-based independent radio and television station B92. An anonymous caller told a B92 security guard that a bomb would explode in an hour inside the station’s offices because of its “anti-Serb campaign,” according to local news…

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U.S. sends wrong message to the world

Restrictive regimes around the world came out ahead. Many were already taking a cue from a U.S. case involving the leak of a CIA officer’s name when the Supreme Court announced this week that it would not hear an appeal by two journalists. The reporters, Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Judith Miller of The New York Times, face 18-month jail terms for not revealing their confidential sources.

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CPJ gravely concerned about threat against editor

Dear Prime Minister Kostunica: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply dismayed by the Serbian Interior Ministry’s failure to promptly respond to a credible death threat made against Grujica Spasovic, editor-in-chief of the Belgrade-based independent daily Danas (Today). An anonymous telephone threat was made to the newspaper on June 11 after Danas reported that your government has identified the town where indicted war criminal Ratko Mladic is hiding. We call on you to ensure that the threat is thoroughly investigated and that appropriate protection is provided to Spasovic.

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SERBIA and MONTENEGRO

JUNE 11, 2005 Posted: June 30, 2005 Grujica Spasovic, Danas Danas THREATENED An anonymous telephone threat was made to the Belgrade-based independent daily after Danas reported that the Serbian government had identified the town where indicted war criminal Ratko Mladic was hiding.

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Kosovo journalist shot

New York, June 6, 2005— Unidentified assailants shot journalist Bardhyl Ajeti from a passing car in Kosovo last Friday, according to international press reports Ajeti, a reporter for the Albanian-language daily Bota Sot (World Today), is now in a coma. Ajeti, 28, was driving from Kosovo’s capital of Pristina to the eastern Kosovo town of…

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SERBIA and MONTENEGRO

JUNE 3, 2005 Posted: August 22, 2005 Bardhyl Ajeti, Bota Sot KILLED—CONFIRMED Ajeti, 28, a reporter for the Albanian-language daily Bota Sot (World Today), died in an Italian hospital on June 25, three weeks after being shot in Kosovo, Agence France-Presse reported.

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Attacks on the Press 2004: Europe and Central Asia Analysis

Overview by Alex Lupis Authoriatarian rulers strengthened their hold on power in many former Soviet republics in 2004. Their secretive, centralized governments aggressively suppressed all forms of independent activity, from journalism and human rights monitoring to religious activism and political opposition.

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Attacks on the Press 2004: Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and MontenegroPolitical paralysis consumed Serbia for much of 2004. Conservative reformists and ultranationalists argued over the bloody legacy of former President Slobodan Milosevic and refused to extradite Serbs indicted for war crimes to The Hague–based U.N. -tribunal. Amid a chaotic and polarized atmosphere, journalists were vulnerable to -intimidation from politicians, government agencies, businessmen, accused…

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2005