08. 10. 09. - 12:00

• more General News news...
• RSS Feed General News

08. 10. 09. - 12:00

First Croat to go to prison for blog comment

Croatian Times

Vukovar resident Damir Fintic will be the first Croat and possibly the first European who will end up in jail for comments on his blog at www.vukovarac.net in 2005.

Fintic has been sentenced to 20 days in prison for comments written by someone else on his blog criticizing former Vukovar Mayor Vladimir Stengl and his wife Dragica.

Blog visitors have written critical comments about how the Stengls acquired property.

Stengl pressed three criminal and three civil charges against Fintic and demanded a total of 250,000 kunas or 33,311 Euros in damages.

Considering that he had no money with which to pay the damages, Fintic decided to go to prison.

He needs to check himself into Osijek prison on 27 October. After that, he will need to spend time in prison once more for a second fine connected to the Stengl case.

The Croatian Journalists Association (HND) has strongly opposed prison for Fintic. It believes Fintic could be the only blog writer to go to prison in Europe. If that happens, HND fears it will change the picture of Croatia as a country that respects freedom of expression.

Fintic told the daily Novi list he had no money with which to pay damages and had refused to accept money from other people because he did not see anything wrong in opening a public forum on his blog.

He added: "I wanted  to  offer all Vukovar residents a chance to express their opinions in public. Considering that Vukovar suffered a lot in the Homeland war in the 1990s, I  expected intensive comments on my blog. But I need to stress I deleted all insulting comments that expressed animosity towards anyone."

The Stengl family has pressed numerous charges against blogs, the media and journalists, demanding in total almost 100,000 Euros in damages.

Missing Austrian cyclist found by police this morning in Dabar
After an all-night search, police in Lika-Senj county found this morning (Thurs) the 65-year-old Austrian cyclist who had been reported missing by a friend, 41, last night.

Croatian diaspora in Australia wants to invest in homeland
Croatian President Ivo Josipovic met recently with a delegation of Croatian emigrant entrepreneurs from Australia interested in investing in their homeland.

Former president to take Croatian entrepreneurs to Libya
A group of Croatian entrepreneurs may go to Libya this autumn in a visit organized by former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.

Gotovina´s trial ends after 2.5 years
The trial of three Croatian generals accused of crimes against humanity during the 1990s war in Croatia ended yesterday (Wed) at The Hague after two-and-a-half years.

Poacher caught at the border with 627 dead birds
An Italian was caught at the Jasenovac border crossing with a van containing 627 dead birds of different species on Tuesday.

Two-thirds of Croatians do not believe fair play occurs in football
Almost two-thirds of Croatians believe that some Croatian Football League (HNL) games have been rigged, the latest GfK research shows.

Prime minister wants better economic relations with Libya
Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor has expressed satisfaction with her meeting yesterday (Weds) with Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi at which the two leaders discussed bilateral economic/commercial cooperation.

Croatian athletes shine at AIFF World Challenge meet in Zagreb
Croatian star athletes Sandra Perkovic and Blanka Vlasic have once again wowed audiences with their remarkable performances at the AIFF World Challenge 2010 over the past two days in Zagreb.

Eighth annual World Theater Festival opens September 17 in Zagreb
The Peeping Tom Collective from Brussels will open the eighth annual World Theater Festival in Zagreb on September 17 with the play "32, Rue Vandenbranden".

Jana bottled water on shelves of second-largest American supermarket chain
Four years after its debut in the American market, Croatian bottled water from the firm Jana is appearing on shelves of the country’s second-largest supermarket chain, Kroger.