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U.S. Department of State Office of the Spokesman Press Statement

Press Statement by James P. Rubin, Spokesman
March 8, 1999

U.S. Strongly Condemns Sentencing of Serbian Journalist

The United States condemns in the strongest terms today's five-month prison sentence of Slavko Curuvija, the Editor-in-Chief of the Belgrade daily newspaper Dnevni Telegraf, by the Serbian Criminal Court. The conviction represents further intensification of the regime's campaign against independent media outlets throughout the country, which began with the Serbian information law passed last year. As our most recent Human Rights report on Serbia notes, since then, the independent Belgrade daily Nasa Borba has closed and other independent newspapers in Serbia have been forcibly shut. Individual journalists and publishers like Mr. Curuvija have been threatened and harassed by government authorities. Continued crackdowns against the independent media in Serbia will only further deny the citizens of Serbia the access to the free flow of information vital to democratic development and serve to further isolate the Serbian Republic. The United States government calls on the authorities in Belgrade to vacate Mr. Curuvija's conviction and to respect the principles of a free and open press.

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