Publishers Furious, Suspicious As Police Grill Reporter

Michael Hedges May 18, 2018 - Follow on Twitter

After a prominent investigative reporter agreed to meet with police officers looking into the murder of another investigative reporter, the meeting turned into an eight-hour interrogation. The police demanded a mobile phone with SIM card, under pressure of judicial consequence. They also wanted source information unrelated to the murder investigation.

Czech investigative reporter Pavla Holcova refused to give Slovak police her mobile phone access codes. They’d crack it anyway, they told her. “They did not explain why they needed the phone,” she said, quoted by Slovak daily SME (May 16). Ms Holcova is director of the Czech Centre for Investigative Reporting (CCIZ).

She appeared voluntarily at the request of the Slovak National Criminal Police Agency (NAKA) to aid the investigation of the February murders of Aktuality.sk investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancée. His unfinished report on corrupt links between Slovak officials and mobsters was finally published weeks after his killing. Local outrage led to nation-wide demonstrations and resignations of prominent officials, including prime minister Robert Fico. (See more about media in Slovakia here)

“The Slovak investigators asked me about the files they had been able to get from Ján's computer and they had an enormous interest in telling them what I know about (tax) fraud and (Slovak businessman) Marián Kocner's business,” said Ms Holcova to Czech news agency CTK (May 16). “I told them I did not deal with it and did not have details about these cases. They did not believe me.” Mr. Kocner has been linked to dodgy dealings in Malta, where investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered last October. Mr. Kuciak had informed authorities of specific threats from Mr. Kocner.

Ms Holcova and Mr. Kuciak collaborated through the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and had communicated shortly before his murder. "I offered them a copy of the conversations with Jan, but that was not enough,” said Ms Holcova, quoted by SME (May 16). “They wanted a copy of all my conversations that took place after the murder.”

This did not sit well with Slovak news publishers. “The obligation to protect sources is one of the essentials of journalist work,” said a statement undersigned and published by virtually every Slovak news organization (May 17), “and it is one of the conditions under which citizens provide journalists with sensitive information that allows for fundamental disclosure of corruption or other failings of state power.”

Some are very suspicious about the turn in the police inquiry. “I’m afraid that the pillaging of Pavla Holcova’s cellphone is pursuing another goal,” said Aktuality.sk head of investigations Marek Vagovic to Novy Cas (May 18). “Tracing whistleblowers to find out what they’ve been working on and to warn the circle of suspected politicians, oligarchs and organized crime.”

The Slovak Public Prosecutors Office issued a detailed statement to explain the contentious interview with Ms Holcova, quoted by Dennik N (May 18), not likely to quell anxiety among reporters and publishers. “It is clear that the investigation must look for answers and evidence between (Jan Kuciak ’s) colleagues - journalists who worked with him - and question what they were working on, what findings that could have led to the tragedy. It is not possible to review this possibility other than through his work, with his colleagues. We appreciate the work of the media. We are convinced that we have a common interest in this matter, which is the discovery, conviction and punishment of perpetrators. Any unsubstantiated questioning of the work of law enforcement authorities ultimately helps only perpetrators to avoid criminal liability.”

Ms Holcova, in response, said she’d be willing to answer further questions from the Slovak authorities but she prefers they come to the Czech Republic. “I will have lawyers.”

See also... in ftm Knowledge

Press/Media Freedom - Challenges and Concerns

Press and media freedom worldwide is facing challenges from many corners. As authoritarian leaders impose strict control over traditional and new media with impunity, media watchers have concerns for democracy. This ftm Knowledge file accounts the troubles of this difficult decade. 88 pages. PDF (December 2011)

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