Croatian Unions Back Journalists Sacked for Criticising Newspaper’s Bias

Journalists' organisations in Croatia have voiced support for the axed staff of a regional daily after the management of Glas Istre dismissed three journalists who criticized its editorial policy.

On Saturday, supporters of the sacked journalists will gather in the Istrian city of Pula, where the HQ of the media house is located, to protest over the decision. The gathering will be supported by the Croatian Journalists' Association, HND, and the Trade Union of Croatian Journalists, SNH.

The unions have also launched a campaign on social networks under the slogan "Support the journalists of Glas Istre", in which other journalists and public figures are expressing support through videos or written messages.

"Support for the journalists of Glas Istre, who were issued extraordinary layoffs because they expressed their opinions, today, in 2021; and because they did what was their job, they pointed out irregularities," Maja Sever, president of the SNH, said in a video.

#podrškanovinarimaGlasaIstre pic.twitter.com/zE7ANbH01G

— Sindikat novinara Hrvatske (@Sindikatnovinar) June 16, 2021

Well-known actor, director and musician Rade Serbedzija also backed the sacked journalists, saying that in a democratic society it would be impossible for "people who do public work - and especially journalism, whose task and essence is to comment on social reality - to lose their jobs because of their attitudes".

The three reporters who were fired, Zoran Angeleski, Danijela Basic-Palkovic and Borka Petrovic, in late May accused the daily's editor-in-chief of trying to influence coverage of the local election campaign to benefit the long-dominant regional party, Istrian Democratic Party, IDS.

In the second...