Other threats to journalists, Silvia Novosel, Križevci, March 2025.

CJA •︎ 26/03/2025

Other threats to journalists, Silvia Novosel, Križevci, March 2025.

Translations: Zagreb 

  • Case info

  • Personal info

  • Regional center
    Zagreb
  • Who was attacked?
    Journalist
  • Gender
    Female
  • Victim(s) name
    Silvia Novosel

  • Media outlet

  • Name of the media outlet
    Križevci.info
  • Type of media platform
    Online Media
  • Source of information about the incident
    Journalist

  • Incident Data

  • Date of incident
    26.03.2025
  • City
    Križevci
  • Perpetrator(s)
    Known (suspected)
  • Attacked by
    By public official(s) and/or representative(s) of the executive power
  • Means of incidents and attacks
    Post mail
    E-mail
    Through media outlets (broadcast, print, online)
  • Type of incident
    Other threats to journalists
  • Type of threat
    Unfounded judicial and administrative harassment including SLAPP cases

  • Action by the authorities

  • Type of violation
    Other

  • Action taken by the journalists' association

  • Was journalist's association informed by the journalists directly?
    Yes

The current city administration in Križevci has been persistently pressuring the local news portal Križevci.info and their journalist Silvia Novosel. One of the main tactics has been an overwhelming flood of rebuttals—often on a daily basis—aimed at discrediting her and burdening the newsroom.

This appears to be a form of retaliation against a journalist who uncovered that the city was using public funds to construct bike lanes without proper building permits, and was reconstructing streets even before the public procurement process had concluded or a contractor had been officially selected.

Novosel also reported on an inspection by the Ministry of Science that revealed numerous irregularities in the city kindergarten—ranging from the dismissal of a principal on medical leave, to the appointment of a new one who happens to be the daughter of a city council member—as well as conflicts of interest at the city-owned radio station.

Following these reports, the pressure on her has intensified. The editor-in-chief refuses to push back against the harassment and insists on publishing every single rebuttal. When there’s no basis for an official denial, the administration instead issues “reactions” to published articles, which are then picked up and amplified by a private media outlet closely tied to the city—owned by the director of the city radio station.