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Editor faces 1m defamation claim |
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News and features -
Europe
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By Patrice Schneider
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Wednesday, 26 September 2007 |
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 A broken cheek for Ivanovic
Zeljko Ivanovic, who is the editorial director of Vijesti newspaper, was attacked by three men early in the morning of 2 September in Podgorica, after returning from a celebration to mark the 10th anniversary of his newspaper, which is the country’s only independent daily.
Ivanovic needed hospital treatment after being beaten with baseball bats and metal rods. He told the media that his beating was a “greeting card” from those who rule Montenegro. Ivanovic was referring to Milo Djukanovic, the former prime minister and current leader of the ruling DPS party.
Most media reported Ivanovic’s comments, but only Vijesti is being pursued for damages.
Ivanovic stands by his claim and says Djukanovic is attempting to create an atmosphere in which violence against journalists is acceptable. Djukanovic, has responded by taking legal action against Ivanovic, Ljubisa Mitrovic, the editor-in-chief of Vijesti, and the newspaper’s publishing company, Daily Press.
In another development, lawyers for the defendants have asked for the replacement of Judge Nenad Otaševic. They have raised questions about the judge’s impartiality in proceedings and claim he has: - refused to summon any witnesses proposed by the defence, including the plaintiff, without explanation
- refused to order a medical examination of Mr Djukanovic to determine the extent of his suffering
- took just 20 minutes to reach a decision on the admissibility of more than 80 pages of defence evidence – a process that usually requires one to two weeks of consideration.
The defendants’ lawyers also claim that Judge Otaševic is allowing the case to proceed to trial without satisfying himself as to there being a prima facie case to answer. The defence is also concerned about the speed with which the case is proceeding to trial.
In comparison, in 2005, Judge Otaševic presided over a war crimes case in which he provided an initial response in four months and held a preliminary hearing after 11 months. In the case brought by Djukanovic, the judge gave his response in six days and held a preliminary hearing one month after the complaint was lodged.
The case continues.
Patrice Schneider is a journalist who devotes his time to helping independent media in transition and post-conflict states reach financial sustainability. His main work is with the Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF).
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