IPI concerned over ruling against KRIK

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The International Press Institute (IPI) expressed concern over a guilty verdict against the KRIK investigative network over its report on Internal Affairs Minister Bratislav Gasic.

“The IPI and its global network today express concern over the decision by a judge in Serbia to find the Network for Investigation of Crime and Corruption (KRIK) guilty of defamation over a report it published about evidence presented in court involving the country’s new Interior Minister,” a press release said.

It said that the potential implications of the ruling on watchdog journalism in Serbia are extremely serious. “This verdict penalizes KRIK for doing its job and providing accurate journalistic court reporting on a clear matter of public interest, in which all journalistic ethics were followed,” the press release added.

“IPI believes this ruling unjustifiably penalizes the accurate publication of evidence presented in open trial, directly undermines the country’s Law on Public Information and Media and sets a dangerous precedent for court reporting and open justice in Serbia,” it said and added that IPI stands by KRIK.