On 27 October, the president of the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA), Saša Leković, escaped a serious road accident after his car appeared to have been tempered with. He was driving on a motorway when his car started shaking and swerving. He was able to stop the car and found out that the right front wheel was twisted and two screws were half-sawed.
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) denounces this apparent criminal act and joins its affiliate, the CJA, in calling on to the authorities to investigate and adequately respond to the incident .
This event follows many threats against CJA president and other CJA members and editors. “This incident is just the culmination of verbal attacks and the most hideous offences against the CJA president Saša Leković. Since he was elected to that position, he has been under lynching of certain portals where he has been offended and threatened and where comments openly call for his murder,” said the CJA in a press release.
The CJA and the EFJ are deeply concerned by the increase of hate speech and direct threats towards journalists in Croatia while impunity remains rampant. An alert will be submitted to the platform of the Council of Europe for the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists.