Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor's legal representative, the Separovic, Spehar and Gavranic law firm, issued a press release on Sunday over a Croatian Television (HTV) talk show in which anchorman Aleksandar Stankovic interviewed journalist Drago Pilsel, assessing that Stankovic's conduct contained all the elements of defamation with the sole intent to damage Kosor's honour and reputation.
The press release said that Stankovic aired a recently broadcast TV feature and directly linked the destiny of an unfortunate family to Kosor, fabricating the argument that the Drobac family was evicted from a flat in Zagreb so that Kosor could move in.
Also, Stankovic made the incorrect statement that Kosor acquired and bought the flat in question unlawfully, the law firm said, adding that at the end of the talk show, Stankovic conducted a fictitious interview with Pilsel impersonating Kosor.
According to the law firm, all the statements made in the talk show are entirely incorrect, ill-intentioned and an expression of an unprecedented lack of professionalism, given that it was conducted with the sole purpose of defaming a third person, in this case Kosor.
The law firm said that no one had contacted Kosor before the talk show or asked for a comment on the subject that would be discussed.
The law firm reminded that Kosor denied such and similar allegations on a number of occasions, and underlined, since the same incorrect information was reiterated during the show anchored by Stankovic, that Kosor acquired tenancy rights to the flat in question in accordance with the law in force at the time and purchased it legally. The press release added that this was recently confirmed by the Croatian Chief State Prosecutor's Office as well.
The law firm went on to say that, apart from the fact that the legality of the flat's sale was disputed without any arguments, the talk show contained untruths and defamatory claims, given that Kosor had moved into an empty flat, so that linking her, in any way, to the destiny of the Drobac family, with which she had nothing to do, was entirely unprofessional and unacceptable.
The press release also said that Stankovic's conduct contained all the elements of defamation, since he made untrue statements offensive and defamatory in nature, statements which had been denied with arguments on a number of occasions, something he was familiar with, and that his sole intention was to damage Kosor's honour and reputation.
The law firm said that because of the conduct of its journalist, HTV is responsible, under the Media Act, for the damage caused to Kosor's dignity, honour and reputation, and announced that they would notify the Croatian Journalists Association and the Croatian Radio and Television Programmes Council.
