Justice for journalist Dusica Mrgja for “April 27th”: a significant step forward in the fight against threats towards media workers
The symbol of impunity for attacks on journalists, the freedom of speech and the right to information of citizens, the day that is known to the public as “black Thursday”, April 27th , 2017, finally after seven years receives partial justice for journalists.
In one of the cases regarding the freedom of the media and the rights of journalists, the Basic Civil Court – Skopje passed a verdict in favor of the journalist Dusica Mrdja, who was attacked during the performance of her duties on April 27th, 2017 in the Assembly in Skopje. This verdict sends a clear message that violence against journalists should not be tolerated and that justice must be served. Through this judgment, the Court recognizes the importance of protecting journalists and freedom of expression as the basic foundations of a democratic society. The verdict is a significant step forward in the fight against threats and pressures on media workers.
For the past seven years, instead of the judicial authorities doing their work, some journalists, photojournalists, and videographers sought justice through the court corridors with the help of AJM lawyers.
Today justice saw the light of day. In the Basic Civil Court Skopje, in the case of Dusica Mrgja, one of the attacked journalists during the break into the Parliament, he received a dismissal.
The judgment states that the defendant is obliged to compensate the Republic of North Macedonia based on compensation for non-material damage due to the fear suffered, as well as based on violation of the right to freedom of expression.
After the attack, colleague Mrdja was the first journalist to state the Public Prosecutor’s Office, after which the attacker was not identified, and there were no proceedings against him. To make the irony greater, some of the attackers of the MPs were not only identified but some of them were convicted and some were amnestied.
Other journalists also have ongoing proceedings on this case which AJM is following closely. As a reminder, some of the facts about this case are the following:
On April 27, 2017, more than 20 journalists were threatened and attacked and were prohibited from reporting on the scene.
In the period from 2017 to 2018, the first lawsuits were filed by journalists and media workers against unknown persons and the state, demanding justice for the physical and verbal attacks on them during the events in the Parliament. These lawsuits were aimed at revealing the identity of the attackers, seeking compensation for injuries and damaged equipment, and seeking state liability for lapses in security protocol.
From 2018 to 2019, the first court decisions that were not in favor of journalists took place, namely the courts rejected the lawsuits, often due to insufficient evidence or the inability to identify the persons directly responsible for the attacks
In 2020, the court rejected the lawsuits filed by journalists Dusica Mrgja and Natasa Stojanovska because they had no evidence that there was an intrusion and that they had no physical injuries.
In 2023, the Skopje Court of Appeal rejected Goran Trpenoski’s appeal against the Basic Civil Court – Skopje, which previously rejected his lawsuit against the state on April 27, 2017
The Constitutional Court also passed Decision U.No. 26/2024 for Trpenovski, in which it indicated that the Basic Civil Court – Skopje and the Court of Appeal Skopje violated his freedom of expression because the state did not protect him on 27.04.2017
In July 2023, the Constitutional Court determined a violation of the freedom of public expression of the journalist Vlatko Stojanovski from FOKUS during the events in the Parliament on April 27, 2017. According to the court, in two judgments – one from the Civil Court – Skopje from 2021 and one from the Court of Appeals Skopje from 2021, it was also omitted to establish a violation of the freedom of expression
In January 2024, the Constitutional Court issued a decision confirming that the freedom of expression of colleague Dušica Mrđa, a journalist from TV24, was violated, and thus the right of citizens to be informed about the events that took place on April 27 in the Parliament was violated.
For years, the Association of Journalists of Macedonia has been calling on competent institutions to seriously and effectively investigate all attacks on journalists and to punish those responsible. The battle for the right to information and the right to freely perform journalistic work will not stop here. Those who violate the rights of journalists need to understand that an attack on a journalist is at the same time an attack on freedom of speech, the right of citizens to be informed and on democracy in general.
With the amendments to the Criminal Law, the penalties for the attackers have been increased, and the prosecutor’s office acts ex officio.
