Award-winning Croatian journalist and documentary filmmaker Melita Vrsaljko was attacked while on the job, and then later at her home. The attackers are members of the family of a local politician from the ruling party. SEE Check stands in solidarity with our member and we urge the local authorities to promptly address and prosecute the attack against her. We also call for appropriate penalties for the attackers.
Melita Vrsaljko, a journalist for Faktograf.hr and the Climate Portal, was physically attacked on Tuesday while working in the village of Nadin near Zadar, Croatia. Initially, an elderly man assaulted her on public property in Nadin overlooking an emerging illegal dump. She was accompanied by a cameraman working on the development of a documentary film in which the Climate Portal is also involved.
On Wednesday, she was attacked again, this time at her home in Nadin. The daughter of the initial attacker assaulted Vrsaljko after she opened the front door, hitting her and attempting to take her mobile phone.
“Police procedures determined that a 36-year-old woman came to the victim’s address, where she verbally and then physically attacked her, throwing her mobile phone from her hand to the ground,” the Zadar Police Department reported.
Both attackers are related to Dario Vrsaljko, an HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) county councilor in the Zadar County Assembly; they are his father and sister. Although they share a surname and are distant relatives, Melita Vrsaljko has no personal contact with the individuals who attacked her. The motive for the attack appears to be her journalistic work, specifically her attempts to document the emerging illegal dump site on land used by the family.
Melita’s Vrsaljko and Faktograf Association’s lawyer, Vanja Jurić, announced the filing of a complaint with the State Attorney’s Office.
The lawyer Vanja Jurić, representing both Faktograf – the Association and journalist Melita Vrsaljko, announced their intention to file a complaint with the State Attorney’s Office. They highlighted that Vrsaljko, a journalist known for her impeccable record, was physically assaulted twice by members of the same family while on duty. The assaults were aimed at hindering her journalistic activities, seeking to intimidate and silence her through physical violence, threats, confiscation of her work equipment, and harassment via phone calls and messages.
Although there are witnesses and video evidence, the police have reportedly mischaracterized these attacks as mere public order offenses, suggesting that the victim, journalist Melita Vrsaljko, was somehow equally involved.
“Given the Criminal Code provisions and the police’s failure to take appropriate protective actions, I will file complaints and proposals for criminal prosecution of the perpetrators directly with the State Attorney’s Office,” said lawyer Vanja Jurić.
“Melita Vrsaljko is an award-winning and excellent journalist, completely dedicated to her work, an immensely brave, motivated, and committed author. This case shows how difficult it is to practice journalism in small communities, where local sheriffs rule and believe that the public has no right to know what they are doing. The attack on her is an attack on media freedom, and the Faktograf Association will do everything it can to fully support its journalist and ensure that this does not happen again,” said Faktograf’s executive director Ana Brakus.
Maida Salkanovic, SEE Check/Petar Vidov, Faktograf
