By: Peter Jančič/ Spletnicasopis.eu
We cannot answer whom we were looking for on television, the Ljubljana Police Department told us, whether they inquired about Jože Možina or the Editor-in-Chief Jadranka Rebernik at the RTVS doorman. However, they did reveal that their work in searching for journalists and editors is guided by the state prosecutor’s office. At the very top, it is led by Drago Šketa.
The response about whom they were looking for at the television is said to be prohibited by the Personal Data Protection Act. This is unusual because official authorities were looking for public figures (journalists and editors) in a media organisation during working hours. Nothing private. However, it seems that our Personal Data Protection Act is indeed structured in a way that the public cannot and should not find out about information that is of public nature and important for the public.
I asked the police this question because the new management of RTVS, led by Zvezdan Martič, surprised us last week with a press release in which they claimed that the police were looking for the Editor-in-Chief. And not Jože Možina. Normally, the police should not disclose whom they were looking for to the public, except if the RTVS management itself is involved and knows about it due to being part of the process, or if it initiated the process itself. This case attracted a lot of attention because when Jože Možina announced that he had learned from the doorman that the police had inquired about him, Aleksandra Golec, a representative of the Ljubljana Police Department, stated that he was exerting pressure on the police. The RTVS management later claimed that the police were looking for the editor.
The Editor-in-Chief of the news programme is Jadranka Rebernik. I asked the police for clarification to ensure that there is no confusion in the public about whom the police were looking for, given the information provided by the RTVS management. Unofficially, I learned from the Editor-in-Chief that she had no knowledge of anyone from the police looking for her.
However, the police have previously questioned Rebernik when investigations were initiated by unionists who alleged that she obstructed a strike by left-leaning journalists who were advocating for the new coalition of parties to immediately replace and appoint their own personnel at the helm of RTVS.
If they are looking for her again and not informing her, it is unusual. This makes it difficult to find those you are allegedly looking for. The full response from the police is as follows:
“Dear Sir,
We cannot respond to questions related to specific individuals in accordance with the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act. However, we can confirm that in this specific case, in accordance with Article 148 of the Criminal Procedure Act and the Police Duties and Powers Act, we are collecting information based on a filed report, due to suspicions of an officially prosecutable criminal offense. The pre-investigation process is supervised by the competent state prosecutor’s office. We cannot provide details of the ongoing investigation. Furthermore, we would like to emphasise that the Police respect freedom of expression as well as journalistic autonomy. We are aware of the important role that journalists play in society, and the Constitution, along with legal and other regulations, ensure their unhindered work.
Sincerely,
Tomaž Tomaževic
Public Relations Representative
Police Inspector”