STA, 13 June 2021 - Igor Kršinar, a journalist for the right-wing political magazine Reporter, has initiated a private prosecution against Prime Minister Janez Janša over two Twitter posts in 2019 that implied he was a drug user.

Čista laž. Očitno je Kršinar že na trdi drogi. https://t.co/Q4alqCS04S

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) October 15, 2019

In one tweet, in October 2019, Janša said about an article that Kršinar wrote. "Pure lie. Kršinar is already using heavy drugs." A month later, Janša shared a tweet by then MP Žan Mahnič, who wondered whether "Kršinar was mixing whiskey and Helex again".

Jaz imam tovarno na Trstenjakovi, @JJansaSDS pa kliniko v Avstraliji. ??? Je Kršinor spet mešal viski in Helex? Ena največjih #FakeNews tovarn v Sloveniji je Piškotar @RevijaReporter. Očitno dobijo premalo tlake, bo moral kabinet predsednika @vladaRS še malo odpret pipico... https://t.co/9hzqdeOeE0

— Žan Mahnič (@ZanMahnic) December 4, 2019

The first tweet referred to an article describing proceedings at the Commission for Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services, which Kršinar subsequently corrected after getting access to the minutes of the meeting.

The second tweet referred to Kršinar's article about a "fake news factory" operated from the headquarters of the Democrats (SDS), Janša's party.

Kršinar says that since 2017 Janša has written disparagingly about Reporter and him personally, but the claim that he is a drug user "exceeds the boundaries of appropriate and permitted communication," the magazine said in an article published on Sunday.

Kršinar says he uses neither drugs nor is he an alcoholic and has never had problems with drug or alcohol abuse.

An arraignment hearing was scheduled for 26 May but was postponed until further notice because Kršinar's lawyer was ill.

Related: Janša Faces Retrial in “Washed-up Prostitutes” Defamation Case

STA, 9 June 2021 - Several international journalist organisations condemned Wednesday Prime Minister Janez Janša's tweet that said Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović was "part of #fakenews network". This came after her warning about deteriorating media freedom in Slovenia. The organisations agree with her assessment of the situation.

"We welcome a memorandum by Commissioner Mijatović and share her concern over the deterioration of media freedom in Slovenia, which coincides with findings of our recent fact-finding mission in the country," said Article 19, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Press Institute (IPI), Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and OBC Transeuropa.

Their joint press release says that their findings on the situation will be part of a report produced by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) mission to Slovenia. The mission was conducted in late May and early June and the report is expected to be published in July.

Mijatović's office is independent and unbiased, which is also reflected in the memorandum, said the organisations, highlighting that the commissioner had not only released the report but also a six-page document displaying views by the Slovenian government.

"The tone and manner in which PM Janša voiced his disagreement with Commissioner Mijatović's memorandum are in our opinion completely inappropriate for a leader of a democratic EU country," the press release says.

Janša wrote in English on Twitter on Sunday: "Unfortunately, @Dunja_Mijatovic is part of #fakenews network. Well paid by our money."

Unfortunately, @Dunja_Mijatovic is part of #fakenews network. Well paid by our money. https://t.co/uFangFwSjm

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) June 6, 2021

The organisations pointed out that the irony was that exactly this kind of conduct by officials on social media raised the alarm in the memorandum, calling on Janša to refrain from such statements in the future and instead strive to remedy the alarming situation.

Janša has responded to the organisations' press release saying that "the manner in which @Dunja_Mijatovic is spreading lies about Slovenia is totally unacceptable". "And we will not tolerate this without telling the truth."

Mijatović urged the Slovenian authorities in the memorandum, published on Friday, to stop the deterioration of media freedom and freedom of expression in the country.

She raised concern over harassment, including sexist harassment against female journalists, intimidation, criminal lawsuits against reporters and the government's attitude to public media.

As part of preparations for the report, Mijatović held talks with President Borut Pahor and a number of ministers in April but not with Janša. She also talked to journalists of different media, politicians, experts and representatives of the civil society.

STA, 8 June 2021 - The public service provided by the Slovenian Press Agency, STA would be subject to detailed new rules under a draft government regulation that the agency's director has described as yet another attempt to bypass two laws that require the government to provide public funding for the agency and as unlawful.

Unlike the law governing the STA, which provides broad outlines of the public service, the draft regulation defines exactly what the public service should look like.

It stipulates that special summaries of Slovenian and English news have to be open to the public, distinct from the news wire the agency markets to subscribers and available in a separate section of the web page.

At present, lead paragraphs and condensed news for radio stations are designated as public service and freely available.

Photos about key events and all content about minorities would also have to be available free of charge, the regulation determines.

The second set of provisions deals with the public service fee, introducing the concept of net expenses the agency incurs in the provision of public service.

In effect, the public service fee would cover the difference between total costs and commercial revenue, whereby even revenue for dedicated commercial projects the STA is performing for public bodies would count as public revenue.

The fee would be paid monthly based on the volume of public service performed in the month before; at present, the public funding, which is currently suspended, is paid monthly but does not specifically depend on monthly output.

The decree also deals with commercial services, requiring that any commercial activities be in compliance with generally accepted professional standards and the principles of truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, independence, and public accountability.

The STA would have to report quarterly to the Government Communications Office (UKOM) about the realisation of the business plan and UKOM would also annually evaluate whether the public service fee is lower or higher than net costs.

The oversight by UKOM also involves access to information about the STA financial and accounting practices.

Financially, the decree is estimated at EUR 2 million annually, which is broadly in line with what the agency has been receiving in the past.

The decree was announced last week as an attempt to end the impasse over financing that has left the agency without payment for public service for 159 days.

However, STA director Bojan Veselinovič has described it as "a new manoeuvre to bypass two laws that the government has been violating since the start of this year".

He said nobody had consulted with the agency about these changes, which would have been expected "if they actually wanted to do us good".

He also stressed that the EUR 2 million does not amount to actual funding, it is only an amount reserved for this purpose, while the final judgement about the funding would be up to the UKOM director.

Veselinovič announced legal action against the decree, saying the agency would "use all legal remedies" to challenge it in court.

A legal opinion commissioned by the STA makes similar points, arguing that the decree infringes on the fundamental principle of law which stipulates that executive regulations must be substantively based on the law they refer to.

It highlights as particular problematic the provision which states what kind of commercial services the STA may or may not perform, arguing that this has no place in a regulation that declaratively deals with its public service.

The Trade Union of Journalists (SNS) and the Association of Journalists (DNS) expressed opposition to the draft decree, assessing that it was unconstitutional and encroaching upon the editorial and managerial autonomy of the STA.

The SNS said it "represents the realisation of the politically motivated goal of the current government that it has pursued with the illegal suspension of financing of the public service of the STA, that is to subjugate the public service."

The DNS said that the decree was unnecessary, and that it would result in greater control by UKOM and its director over the independent public media outlet and "enable further extortion and applying of pressure on the STA."

STA, 7 June 2021 - President Borut Pahor has announced he will award presidential decorations to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), the Koper bureau of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija and the Slovenian bureau of Italian public broadcaster RAI.

Janša Accuses Slovenian Press Agency Director of Murdering Journalist

"I believe these are three anniversaries, three important media institutions, which have made major contributions to us having freedom of speech, expression and media," he told a news show on TV Slovenija on Sunday evening.

The STA is celebrating the 30th anniversary this year, and the Koper bureau of RTV Slovenia marked its 50th anniversary this year.

Pahor will decorate the STA in the second half of the month, he explained on Monday, speaking to the press on the margin of a reception for Slovenian Catholic bishops.

Slovenian Press Agency Turns to Fundraising Campaign as Govt Continues to Withhold Funding

He said the agency had played its irreplaceable role for 30 years already, doing its job professionally and with passion, contributing to freedom of the press and speech.

The STA is an agency without which many media outlets would not be able to report objectively on events in Slovenia and abroad, he said.

The STA has very successfully adhered to the standards of agency journalisms such as professionalism and unbiased reporting over the past 30 years, "which is the reason why it deserves a decoration for the mission it carries out", he added.

Pahor will decorate the STA upon the proposals of two former STA directors, Dejan Verčič and Tadej Labernik, and the Association of Slovenian Journalists. They urged him last month to decorate the STA on its 30th anniversary for its role and importance in Slovenia, both for the country's statehood and its democratic media.

STA, 4 June 2021 - Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović urged the Slovenian authorities in a memorandum published on Friday to put a stop to the deterioration of the situation regarding media freedom and freedom of expression in the country.

In the context of media freedom, she pointed to harassment, intimidation and criminal lawsuits against journalists. She also highlighted "sexist harassment and misogynistic speech against female journalists" and the government's attitude to public media.

The commissioner stressed that public service media served a specific role in a democratic society, by providing reliable information to all segments of the population.

She said she regretted the moves of the Slovenian government that "risk undermining the independence, credibility and financial stability of the public broadcaster RTV and the national press agency STA".

"It is of paramount importance for media freedom in Slovenia to preserve the national independent press agency, and I reiterate my call to the Slovenian government to urgently re-instate adequate public funding for STA," said the commissioner.

According to her, the recent deterioration of media freedom in Slovenia is happening in the context of systemic weaknesses in the regulation of the media market in the country, which should be addressed in order to bolster independent, high quality and diverse journalism.

She recommends increasing the transparency of media ownership, addressing conflicts of interest between political parties and media outlets, and setting up a mechanism to ensure more effective regulation of the media market.

Mijatović also urged the Slovenian authorities to stop the deterioration of the situation concerning freedom of expression. She warned that "some steps taken by the Slovenian government in recent months risk undermining the ability of independent voices to speak freely".

She stressed that hostile public discourse, as well as smear campaigns and intimidation targeting civil society activists and those who express critical opinions, harm free expression.

The commissioner urged the Slovenian authorities to take action to appease tensions in society and to encourage mutual respect in the exchange of opinions. Noting the specific responsibility of political leaders in this regard, she said members of the government in particular must make a responsible and dignified use of social media platforms.

"Members of the government must refrain from making stigmatising and misleading comments about the work of civil society, and should publicly condemn such discourse by others", she said.

The commissioner also expressed regret that the Slovenian government "appears to have used the Covid-19 pandemic to discourage the free expression of dissent or political opposition". Several measures restricting the right to protest, including prolonged blanket bans on public assemblies and heavy fines imposed on protestors, seem disproportionate and risk undermining freedom of expression, she said.

She urged the authorities to find the proper balance in order to uphold the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.

As part of preparation for the report, Mijatović held talks with President Borut Pahor and several ministers in April but not with Prime Minister Janez Janša. She also talked to journalists of different media, politicians, experts and representatives of the civil society.

Interior Minister Aleš Hojs said the report did not reflect the views he had presented to Mijatović, especially not regarding the freedom of speech. "I think no Slovenian journalist is restricted in their freedom of speech. Moreover, I think the kind of freedom of speech that Slovenian journalists and media representatives have exists nowhere else in the world," Hojs said as he met Italian counterpart Luciana Lamorgese in Brdo pri Kranju.

He noted the Interior Ministry had made its comments on the report. These comments are now being collected at the Foreign Ministry, as the report gives recommendations to other ministries as well. "Of course we will categorically deny all incorrect or faulty claims."

Hojs believes the majority of the report "like most of the things that Slovenian journalist export to Europe" was partly created in Slovenia.

He said he had explicitly highlighted three attacks on journalists in talks with Mijatović which were not mentioned in the report, but a completely different case was. "So this is extremely unusually and extremely untrustworthy," he said.

The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) said the debate on the media should be put in a wider context. "The rule of law, personal rights and freedoms, independent branches of power and media freedom - these are all pillars of democracy, which should never be claimed by individual parties, traded with, let alone used as a tool against those with different views."

Tanja Fajon, the head of the opposition Social Democrats (SD), said on Twitter that the commissioner would hear criticism that she was biased although she was a voice of an international organisation that should be taken utterly seriously. The government definitely sees the media as a priority. However, it does not strive for their freedom but subjugation, she said.

STA, 21 May - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) investigators paid a visit to the media company Dnevnik on Thursday, the daily Dnevnik has reported. They made inquiries into Dnevnik's advertising, particularly in regard to an advert deal with the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).

The investigators mainly inquired about Dnevnik's business deals with the STA - they wanted to know who is in charge of signing the deals and why deals with business partners are considered confidential or trade secrets, the daily said.

They quizzed Nives Roš, the head of advertising at Dnevnik, about the situation. Dnevnik editor-in-chief Miran Lesjak told the STA that the police had been initially interested in Dnevnik's advertising policy in general.

What followed were questions that focused on the company's business relationship with the STA - what were the circumstances that had led to this relationship, who was involved in writing the contract and why it is treated as confidential.

Lesjak said that Roš had explained to the investigators that all Dnevnik's advertising contracts were labelled confidential to protect trade secrets in the competitive media environment.

She also told the police everything she knew about the deal with the STA. Roš was not involved in writing the contract as the deal was signed years ago.

The police announced they would request access to relevant documentation, Lesjak said, noting that the deal with the STA was a common business practice. The police already have access to the contract, he highlighted.

Lesjak thus finds it hard to see the visit as anything but a way of exerting pressure on the media, in this case the STA and Dnevnik. The background of the story is clear - the police simply act according to instructions given by the government regarding the STA, he said.

Based on a report from the Government Communication Office, the government on 18 March tasked the Interior Ministry to examine whether the violations alleged therein contained elements of suspected criminal acts prosecutable ex officio and to act accordingly.

The ministry was also tasked to examine whether the STA supervisory board might have violated the companies act.

Moreover, the government proposed for the STA supervisory board to dismiss STA director Bojan Veselinovič, alleging violations in the fulfilment of the agency's legal obligations, which Veselinovič denies.

Ljubljana police investigators visited Mladen Terčelj, the chairman of the STA supervisory board, in mid-April in response to reports of alleged violations pertaining to the STA.

The government also called on the labour inspectorate in March to examine the agency and review its operations. Labour inspectors have found no infringements with respect to the employment relationships act or safety at work, including in response to the Covid-19 epidemic. They have issued a warning over a minor issue that has been tackled, the STA management said on Thursday.

STA, 15 May 2021 - Several radio stations with special status and two national newspapers have been left without the state's financial support and thus face a precarious situation, report the dailies Delo and Dnevnik on Saturday.

Media outlets which applied for the government's co-funding scheme in an annual open call by the Culture Ministry have started receiving the ministry's decisions.

A number of them have failed to secure state funding and thus face financial struggles.

Among these are also the national newspapers Delo and Dnevnik, which reported today that their applications had been rejected for their alleged media bias and because they did not focus on local coverage enough.

According to Dnevnik, the daily received zero points out of ten when it came to criteria determining politically balanced news coverage. Delo meanwhile received two.

Another major newspaper in Slovenia, Večer, was granted EUR 19,000 in what is co-funding for local and regional content, Dnevnik reported.

Media expert Marko Milosavljević from the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences told Dnevnik the ministry's commission in charge of reviewing the applications was in fact politically imbalanced itself.

"A five-member commission makes decisions about media plurality and objectivity with four members being extremely close to the SDS party," he said.

The commission features Matej Makarovič, Borut Rončević, Mitja Štular, Jonatan Vinkler and Suzana Žilič Fišer.

Also soon to be left without government support are five radio stations that enjoy special status under the law, including Radio Študent, a small independent radio station which received almost EUR 100,000 from the state last year. This is 50% of the station's co-funding scheme which will be impossible to secured elsewhere.

"This year's open call was identical to last year's, and so were the assessment criteria, the application was comparable to last year's, the only thing that is different in the entire open call is the composition of the 'expert' commission," Ana Kandare, the head of the Radio Študent institute, told Delo, describing the rejection as politically-motivated.

The remaining radio stations that have not been granted state funding are local Radio Krka, Radio Koroška, Radio Triglav and Radio Kranj. Radio Koroška told Delo that as a result of the cut in funding, the radio station will be forced to reduce its programme for the first time since it was established 60 years ago.

So far, the ministry has not responded to the STA's query regarding the open call. The ministry did tell Dnevnik though that it would make the results of the open call public when all the applicants were notified of the decisions.

Meanwhile, also struggling financially is the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), which remains without government payment for performing public service. The agency has launched court proceedings to seek enforcement of pecuniary obligations for January.

The State Attorney's Office, which is representing the government, rejected an option of a peaceful settlement of the dispute.

In what is the latest development in the STA funding story, the State Attorney's Office lodged a complaint against the enforcement procedure on the last day before the relevant deadline, thus prolonging the proceedings.

The STA management sees the step as a way of stalling and is confident that the enforcement of payment will be secured in court as the law is clear about the state's obligation to provide sufficient funding for the STA.

European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič, the Slovenian member of the European Commission, told Dnevnik's Saturday edition that the Commission was concerned about suspension of the STA funding. The Commission calls for the matter to be resolved without any delay, he said.

Cause for concern are also frequent verbal attacks on journalists in Slovenia, the commissioner said. "Given the European Commission's stance, Slovenia is thus approaching its EU presidency on a bad note," he said.

STA, 10 May 2021 - Some EUR 189,000 has been raised a week into what is planned to be a month-long fundraising campaign to secure funding for the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), which the Association of Slovenian Journalists labelled as an exceptional start. This roughly equals the monthly compensation for the public service performed by the STA.

Launched on 3 May and called "Za obSTAnek", the campaign aims to raise two million euro via small SMS donations and from potential larger donors, as the agency has not received budget funds for its public service for four months.

The Association of Slovenian Journalists said on Monday that donors had responded to the association's call for help, launched on World Press Freedom Day, to make sure that almost 100 STA employees get paid for the work they are doing.

It said that the campaign had brought together individuals, various organisations and companies that are aware of the importance of the public service provided by the STA and that "do not accept journalism dictated by the authorities."

Despite the warnings from the domestic public and international organisations, the decision-makers are yet to fulfil their obligations required by law when it comes to financing the STA, which is why the campaign continues, the association added.

The goal is to secure an amount that equals a one-year compensation for public service to ensure stable operation, regardless of what the government does, as the agency is awaiting a court decision in an enforcement procedure and is looking for some other solutions.

"The position in which the advocates of public interest and public services have found themselves is unsustainable, as individuals and companies again finance the performance of public service instead of the state," the association added.

The details of the fundraising campaign are available at https://zaobstanek.si/.

STA, 7 May 2021 - The weekly Mladina has been asked by police to provide information on how it got hold of classified documents revealing the content of the draft National Recovery and Resilience Plan which the magazine published in February in what Mladina sees as an act of intimidation.

According to Mladina, the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has assessed that the magazine divulged classified information.

When Mladina published the draft plan on its website in February, the document had still been labelled internal.

An official letter from the Ljubljana Bežigrad police station published by Mladina shows the query for the magazine to provide information about the author of the article, the editor-in-chief and when, how and from whom they obtained documents labelled as internal was made at the request of the Ljubljana District State Prosecution.

Mladina says the article in which the documents were published was signed by the author with a name and surname and the information on who is the editor-in-chief is publicly available, which is why they see police questions as an attempt to intimidate them more than inquiring about relevant facts in trying to prove criminal offences.

The government decided to declassify the document soon after Mladina published the draft, although the opposition had been demanding before that it should be subject to a broad public debate.

Minister for Development, Strategic Projects and Cohesion Zvonko Černač said at the time he had declassified it after its contents had been leaked to a weekly. "The harm has been done and it cannot be repaired," he said in parliament at the end of February.

The Association of Slovenian Journalists (DNS) responded to today's news by saying it was worried about the investigation, especially since the draft document was declassified two weeks after being published, which it said "proved the public was fully entitled to get insight into it".

It pointed to the changes to the penal code adopted on its initiative in 2015 which decriminalised obtaining and publishing confidential data to reveal them to the public if the release is in public interest and if it does not pose a risk to life.

The association thus expects the prosecution of Mladina to immediately stop.

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