Journalist Zivana Susak Zivkovic was attacked at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in a church in the Sirobuja district of Split, on the Easter of 2020. Despite the ban, the priest celebrated mass. During the reporting, the journalist was first hit on the hand, when she dropped her cell phone, and then her shoulder and leg were crushed by the door. The police quickly arrested the perpetrators, a father and son. After the incident, Zivana was exposed to a public lynching by extremists on social networks. She was also under police protection for a short time. The attack on the journalist was classified as a criminal act of coercion against a person who performs tasks of public interest or in the public service. Such indictment is a great step forward for the protection of journalism and media workers. Nevertheless, Zivana emphasizes how slow the prosecution process is, and that almost two years had passed before the first hearing. It is very traumatic for the victim to relive what happened, and the slowness of the process certainly makes it difficult. “I would also like to stress the attitude towards the victim in the courtroom. Apart from the fact that the perpetrator and the victim are not even a meter apart, the fact that she is exposed to verbal attacks and accusations of being responsible for the beatings does not contribute to the feeling that justice is served… I would also like to point out that I am convinced that the monitoring of the process by a strong media company and the support of Croatian Journalists’ Association was of great importance for achieving justice,” Susak Zivkovic points out.
Novinarka Živana Šušak Živković napadnuta je na početku pandemije koronavirusa u crkvi u splitskom kvartu Sirobuja, na Uskrs 2020. godine. Unatoč zabrani, svećenik je održavao misu. Tijekom izvještavanja, novinarka je prvo udarena u ruku, pri čemu joj je ispao mobitel, a potom su joj vratima gnječili rame i nogu. Policija je brzo uhitila počinitelje, oca i sina. Nakon incidenta, Živana je bila izložena javnom linču dijela ekstremista na društvenim mrežama. Kratko vrijeme bila je i pod policijskom zaštitom. Napad na novinarku je okvalificiran kao kazneno djelo prisile prema osobi koja obavlja poslove od javnog interesa ili u javnoj službi. Tako okvalificirana optužnica je veliki iskorak za zaštitu novinarstva i medijskih djelatnika. Ipak, sama Živana naglašava koliko je čin procesuiranja spor, te da je gotovo dvije godine prošlo do prvog ročišta. Za žrtvu je jako traumatično ponovno oživljavati što je bilo, a vrijeme čekanja procesa to svakako otežava. “Skrenula bih pažnju i na odnos prema žrtvi u sudnici. Osim što su počinitelj i žrtva udaljeni niti metar, osjećaju zadovoljavanja pravde ne pridonosi ni činjenica što se izlaže verbalnim napadima, prozivanjem da je odgovorna za batine… Istaknula bih i da sam uvjerenja kako je praćenje procesa od strane jake medijske kuće i podrška HND-a bila od velike važnosti za dostizanje pravde.”, poentira Šušak Živković.