Macedonian journalist arrested on espionage charges

08 Nov 13 | Europe and Central Asia, Macedonia, News and features

Zoran Bozinovski, the owner of website Burevesnik, was arrested Thursday night in Novi Sad, Serbia. Bozinovski is charged with foreign espionage and criminal association.

Burevesnik is known for its critical coverage of the Macedonian government, led by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

Macedonian authorities accuse Bozinovski of being part of a spy-ring working for a foreign government. He has previously denied the charges, telling Macedonian independent news site NOVA TV in September that “all the information that I gather I publicly declare my website Burevesnik.” He now faces 30 days in detention and extradition to Macedonia.

This comes only a day after journalist Tomislav Kezarovski was released from prison and put under house arrest. He was sentenced to four and half years in jail in October for reporting on the identity of a witness in a murder trial in 2008. The sentence came under criticism both nationally and internationally, with OSCE Media Freedom Representative Dunja Mijatovic declaring it had “serious consequences for free expression and media freedom” in the country.

Press freedom in Macedonia has been deteriorating for some time, with repressive legislation and increased hostility towards critical press from the government. The country ranks 116th out of 179 countries in the 2013 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

This article was originally posted on 8 Nov 2013 at indexoncensorship.org