Skopje court ruling to send journalist back to prison is a serious setback for media freedom in the country, says Mijatović | WPN World People News

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović condemned the arrest of journalist Tomislav Kezarovski, following a two years prison sentence by the Skopje Court of Appeal, on January 17 .

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović at the conference on shaping policies to advance media freedom on the Internet, Vienna, 14 February 2013.

“That Kezarovski has been further deprived of his freedom is unacceptable,” Mijatović said. “I have always recognized and stressed the importance of rule of law and the work of judiciary, but this ruling and last night’s hasty arrest are very disappointing and a disproportionate response”.

Following five months of pre-trial detention, Kezarovski was convicted in October 2013 for an article he wrote in 2008 for Reporter 92 magazine in which he allegedly revealed the identity of a witness in a murder case. He has been in house detention since then.

On appeal the sentence was lowered from 4,5 to 2 years of imprisonment, and the court ruled to imprison Kezarovski for the remainder of his sentence. On the evening of 16 January police apprehended Kezarovski in his home and brought him to prison.

“Imprisonment of journalists for what they say or write is unacceptable in a democracy. The ruling to imprison Kezarovski sets a dangerous precedent for free media and investigative journalism,” Mijatović said.

“It is high time for the authorities in the country to ease the pressure on media and respect free and critical voices. Kezarovski should be released immediately”, Mijatović said.

Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe