Croatia removes jail threat to journalists

Croatia has become the third European state in the past nine months to abolish imprisonment as a punishment for libel. In welcoming Croatia's decision, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) noted that it followed the decriminalisation of defamation in Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macdedonia. OSCE's spokesman, Miklos Haraszti, said: "I welcome Croatia's move to liberate the country's journalists from the fear of imprisonment for their words. This will boost the self-confidence of the press, and also improve its professionalism." (Via osce.org)