Not only Janez Janša or Aleš Hojs, our media outlet is also under constant pressure and repression from the authorities. Before the European elections, they broke into the home of Boris Tomašič, host of the show “Kdo vam laže?” (“Who is lying to you?”), and into the premises of Nova24TV. And at the end of this month, Marko Puš, the editor-in-chief of our portal, will have to defend himself in court again because of an otherwise accurate article.
The story dates back to 2022, when an article was published entitled “Golob’s Faila is milking the state: she lives in social housing and drives an expensive Audi Q5.” Faila Pašić, who is one of the members of Golob’s staff, has accused our editor-in-chief of revealing her personal data – she has not, however, disputed the content of the article.
She obviously does not object to the content, as it follows from the prosecutor’s indictment that she only finds it problematic that Puš disclosed (among other things) her address. The address itself, which could be found in any directory a few years ago, was a key part of the article. The mere claim that the political activist in question lives in “social” housing would not be credible if her address had not been mentioned. Nor does it follow from the prosecutor’s indictment that Pašić objects to the claim that she drives an Audi Q5. This is precisely the key part of the article, as the legislator did not envisage that social housing would be intended for people with luxury vehicles, as they can likely afford to buy their own homes.
But no, the prosecutor accused the editor of the Nova24TV portal solely and exclusively of disclosing personal data under the first paragraph of Article 143 of the Criminal Code.
It seems incredible and, above all, typical of authoritarian states to do something like that, but the judge of the District Court in Ljubljana accepted Pašić’s argument the following year, i.e. in 2023, and sentenced the editor of our portal to time spent in prison – because of a single article. She sentenced him to one month in prison, suspended, but the sentence could be enforced if he did not appeal the conviction, and another article appeared on the portal that, in the court’s opinion, violated the law.
The sentence he was handed is brutal. Article 143 of the Criminal Code states: “Anyone who, without legal basis or the personal consent of the individual to whom the personal data relates, discloses or publicly publishes personal data that is processed on the basis of the law or the personal consent of the individual, shall be punished with a fine or imprisonment of up to one year.”
The judge could have imposed a fine on the editor of our portal, especially considering that he had never been punished before. However, she decided instead to impose a prison sentence. Similar penalties are imposed on editors and journalists of opposition media in Belarus and Russia, but certainly not in the European Union in the year 2025. In this case, a one-month suspended sentence was imposed, but in other cases, a full prison sentence may be imposed.
Puš has appealed the conviction
Marko Puš disagrees with the conviction and has filed an appeal, arguing that the conditions for issuing a penalty order were not met, that the judgment is legally flawed and “at the very least premature.”
“In the opinion of the defendant, the content of the evidence undoubtedly does not provide sufficient grounds for issuing a penalty order. Even if the facts stated in the contested judgment incriminating the defendant were true (which they are not), they still do not meet all the legal criteria for the criminal offence with which he is being charged. The allegedly controversial journalistic article was entirely lawful,” Puš insisted in his appeal. The appeal further states that the indictment of the District State Prosecutor’s Office incorrectly and erroneously summarises the facts of the case, which consequently incriminates the defendant for committing the alleged criminal offence. He added that an incorrect legal assessment was made and that there was no evidence or justification for the direct intent required to commit a criminal offence.
Pogrom against the opposition
As already mentioned, this is not just about the editor of our portal. The democratic opposition, whether in politics or the media, has been the target of the deep state in Slovenia ever since we gained our independence. The usual lightning rod for this has been Janez Janša and his associates. As we saw this week, they have now turned their attention to the former Minister of the Interior and Vice-President of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), Aleš Hojs. However, the political left, with its monopolies in almost all social subsystems, has not stopped at politicians. It is also targeting controversial media outlets, such as ours. At the end of May last year, an investigation was conducted at the premises of Nova24TV just ten days before the elections to the European Parliament.
Ž. K.
