Amendments to the Criminal Code: A Threat to Journalists Who May Face Imprisonment for Seeking Information

The Ministry of Justice closed the public discussion on the new draft amendments to the Criminal Code three days ago. The proposed changes have sparked intense reactions in the public, primarily because, as experts point out, they are aimed at suppressing student and civic protests that have been ongoing for nearly a year.

Journalists also have reasons to be concerned about the changes to the law. They could face problems and even end up in prison simply for seeking information and documents from institutions or recording conversations with their sources.

If the existing draft law is adopted, lawyer Kruna Savović warns that there is a danger that a journalist who records a conversation with their source without consent could be criminally prosecuted, regardless of the fact that the recording was made solely to accurately convey the words of their interlocutor.

“They would be equally liable if their source threatened, insulted, demanded bribes, or similar in the recorded conversation,” says Savović for KRIK.

Journalists face another danger – the introduction of the criminal offense of Disclosure of Confidential Information. This, as Savović claims, would enable state authorities to prevent the publication of certain documents or information by labeling them as “internal” or “strictly confidential.” Practically, this would allow institutions to hide anything they wish from citizens.

“A journalist who obtains or tries to obtain such documents – relying on the right they have under the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance – could potentially be criminally liable, as the proposed article of the law criminalizes even the mere acquisition of confidential information,” says Savović.

“If a state authority marks some information as confidential, the burden of proof that the information could not (or should not) have been marked as confidential falls on the journalist. The consequence is that the information remains either unpublished or is published only after it has lost its relevance.”

Uroš Jovanović from Civic Initiatives also believes that the amendments will significantly restrict the work and affect the safety of journalists. He states that journalists could end up in prison because of this.

“A prison sentence is prescribed for anyone who unlawfully obtains data or documents that are marked with confidentiality levels from ‘internal’ to ‘state secret,’ which will essentially significantly limit investigative endeavors in the field of crime and corruption,” says Jovanović.

He points out that this amendment is absurd because journalists can be prosecuted even when seeking data or documents such as state contracts with a foreign company.

“It is very important to put this in the context in which state authorities place confidentiality labels on documents that would be available to the public if we lived in a normal state,” Jovanović noted.

Interviewees for KRIK also emphasize that these changes to the law could not only create serious problems for journalists but also potentially stifle protests that have been taking place since the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station in November of last year.

“It seems to me that they were proposed in response to current political events, as a way to create instruments for the needs of the authorities in conflict with the protests of students and citizens,” notes lawyer and legal analyst Rodoljub Šabić.

New Criminal Offenses: Traffic Blockades and Advising on Criminal Offenses

Lawyer Ljiljana Borović Marjanović states that it is evident that the amendments to the Criminal Code are being made almost exclusively due to the protests of students and citizens. She believes one of the key goals is to sanction all those who protest and participate in blockades, and that through intimidation and the implementation of criminal proceedings, the authorities aim to maintain control.

That the law is being changed due to current events is evidenced, claims Borović Marjanović, by the introduction of a novelty – that every road blockade constitutes a criminal offense punishable by up to one year in prison.

“It is clear that this article is being changed to suppress the protest of dissatisfied citizens and students who, through road blockades, are fighting to have their voices heard and to fulfill completely legitimate and justified demands,” she assessed.

“In practice, this means that 16-minute blockades could fall under a criminal offense, even if we place some obstacle on the road during the blockade. This is the result of all those announcements from politicians who have emphasized these blockades, thus creating blockaders and blockader-terrorists,” says Uroš Jovanović from Civic Initiatives.

The second contentious potential novelty is that advising on how to commit criminal offenses becomes a criminal act.

Rodoljub Šabić states that it is indicative that among the criminal acts that can be advised are those related to the constitution and national security.

“Does a novel by Dostoevsky or Agatha Christie contain instructions for committing a criminal act? It may sound like I’m being ironic, but I’m actually not. It is so fluid that a malicious prosecutor could recognize that in anything,” claims Šabić.

Lawyer Borović Marjanović asserts that there is no doubt that this article was added with the intention of suppressing protests.

“In this way, they are attempting to introduce the notion that any action taken to seek the removal of the government actually represents a criminal act,” she says.

“It is quite certain that even these amendments do not resolve the problem faced by the government, as the actions taken by students are not actions calling for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order,” emphasizes Borović Marjanović.

Some of KRIK's interviewees submitted their comments and objections regarding the draft amendments to the Criminal Code to the Ministry of Justice. It will prepare a report on all received comments and suggestions by October 15 and publish it publicly. The further procedure involves sending the draft law to the government, which forwards it to the assembly for adoption.

Source: KRIK