Journalist of the Climate Portal and Faktograf.hr physically attacked in her home

For years, Faktograf – Association for the Informed Public, has endured violent threats. Our journalists have been repeatedly subjected to harassment and attacks, yet this physical assault on Melita Vrsaljko in her own home marks an unprecedented and appalling escalation of violence.

Melita Vrsaljko, a journalist for Faktograf.hr and the Climate Portal, was physically attacked while working in the village of Nadin near Zadar. Initially, an elderly man attacked her on public property in Nadin while she was passing by an emerging illegal dump with a cameraman working on the development of a documentary film in which the Climate Portal is also involved.

Later, she was attacked again, this time in her home, also in Nadin. The daughter of the original attacker, after Vrsaljko opened the front door, started hitting her and attempted to take her mobile phone.

“Police procedures determined that a 36-year-old woman came to the victim’s address, where she verbally and then physically attacked her, throwing her mobile phone from her hand to the ground,” the Zadar Police Department reported.

Both attackers are related to Dario Vrsaljko, an HDZ county councilor in the Zadar County Assembly; they are his father and sister. Although they share a surname and are distant relatives, Melita Vrsaljko has no personal contact with the individuals who attacked her. The motive for the attack is her journalistic work, specifically her attempt to document the location of the emerging dump on the land used by this family.

Melita Vrsaljko described the entire incident on her Facebook profile:

Yesterday Iva Perić physically attacked me in my own home. She is the daughter of the man who physically attacked me the day before while I was passing by his land where some waste was starting to accumulate.

Namely, her father wanted to prevent a scenario in which the cameraman turns on the camera and records what can be recorded from the public property since his plot of land is visible from the road and is located in the middle of the village. He suddenly ran towards us, threatened us with violence and breaking our equipment (the camera wasn’t even turned on), claiming he was a war veteran. Then he physically attacked me on public property, and in self-defense, I was forced to kick him to free myself.

We called the police, but as it usually happens, both sides were blamed for disturbing public order and peace, and I ended up with a restraining order to stay at least 50 meters away from the man who first attacked me and the cameraman on public property.

I decided not to go to the media with this, but I couldn’t resist posting a short video of a few seconds where an elderly man on the road runs towards me maniacally and attacks me on my Instagram story.

Yesterday, his daughter came to my door, stormed into my house, snatched my phone, and started hitting me, pulling my hair to the point of pulling some out, and then choking me while simultaneously saying she would delete the footage of her violent father recorded on public property and force me to apologize to him. In self-defense (again), I was forced to bite her hand until it bled so she wouldn’t strangle me, push her away, grab my phone, and call the police.

It’s now up to the State Attorney – let the institutions do their job.

And to the attacker, who is a donor to the ruling party and the sister of a well-known local HDZ member, I can only say that she hasn’t succeeded in intimidating anyone, although it was really unpleasant to see her so hysterical and violent.

We sought a statement from Melita’s and Faktograf Association’s lawyer, Vanja Jurić, who announced the filing of a complaint with the State Attorney’s Office.

“The facts are that a journalist, without a single blemish in her career, was physically attacked twice while doing her job by members of the same family – precisely because she tried to do her job. The goal of both attacks was to prevent her from doing her journalistic work, i.e., to intimidate and silence her, which the attackers, father, and daughter, tried to do by inflicting physical injuries, threats, taking away her work equipment, and harassing her with phone calls and messages.

Although there are witnesses and video recordings, the police have, as far as is known, mischaracterized these attacks as offenses against public order and peace, in which allegedly the victim herself equally participated. Given the provisions of the Criminal Code and the fact that the police have not taken the actions they could and should have to protect journalist Vrsaljko, I will, on her behalf, directly file complaints and proposals with the State Attorney’s Office for the criminal prosecution of the perpetrators,” said lawyer Vanja Jurić.

The Faktograf Association, the publisher of Faktograf.hr and the Climate Portal, expects the Zadar State Attorney’s Office to urgently prosecute this attack on Melita Vrsaljko and that the attackers will be appropriately punished. We will provide our journalist with legal and any other necessary support throughout the process.

“Melita Vrsaljko is an award-winning and excellent journalist, completely dedicated to her work, an immensely brave, motivated, and committed author. This case shows how difficult it is to practice journalism in small communities, where local sheriffs rule and believe that the public has no right to know what they are doing. The attack on her is an attack on media freedom, and the Faktograf Association will do everything it can to fully support its journalist and ensure that this does not happen again,” said Faktograf’s executive director Ana Brakus.

Author: Petar Vidov

Photo: A wild dump whose location the attackers tried to hide/The Climate Portal