a. Freedom of Expression, Including for the Members of the Press and Other Media
The constitution and law provide for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, and the government generally respected these rights. An independent media, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to promote freedom of expression, including for the members of the media.
Freedom of Expression: The law prohibits the incitement to hatred, violence, and intolerance based on nationality, race, religion, gender, skin color, social status, political or other beliefs, sexual orientation, and disability in a way that could threaten or disrupt public order, typically requiring violence to occur for the prosecution of such incitement. The penal code also prohibits the expression of ideas of racial superiority and denial of the Holocaust.
Cases of individual court convictions and sentences for spreading intolerance on Twitter were reported. On January 22, the Slovenian Association of Journalists (DNS) filed a criminal complaint against TV3 talk show host Norma Brscic and TV3 editor in chief Tomaz Taskar for public incitement of hatred and intolerance. The complaint alleged that on January 20, Brscic commented on the inferiority of the “black race” and of a Jewish conspiracy. In October the District State Prosecutor’s Office in Ljubljana filed a request for investigation by the Ljubljana District Court, and the case remained under investigation.
On July 5, the Communications Networks and Services Agency ordered TV3 to cease inciting racial hatred and intolerance. On August 11, the independent state Office of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality, established to enable constitutional protection against discrimination, stated that TV3 had violated the ban on discrimination when it broadcast the talk show.
Freedom of Expression for Members of the Press and Other Media, Including Online Media: Independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction; however, the European Commission and press-freedom NGOs expressed concern regarding the deterioration of media freedom in the country.
The European Commission, the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, and NGO media watchdog groups expressed concerns regarding online harassment of journalists, the government’s undermining of the independence of media, and nontransparent media ownership structures.
On September 15, the Supreme Court ruled that “the use of Twitter grants no one an unlimited right to communicate” and that the right to make value judgements on Twitter is limited (to the) existence of a “convincing and firm factual basis.” The ruling was issued in response to an appeal filed by the prime minister regarding a lower-court judgment against him for tweets he wrote in 2016 defaming RTV Slovenia journalist Eugenija Carl. The DNS stated the court ruling sent a clear message to those who “discredit, insult, and embarrass” journalists.
The Government Communication Office (UKOM) ceased funding the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) at the beginning of the year, pushing STA to the brink of insolvency. The government justified the move by stating greater accountability from STA was needed. On November 8, the government agreed to resume funding when STA and UKOM signed an agreement providing for UKOM to fund the STA public service with two million euros ($2.3 million) for the remainder of the year. In a letter dated September 24 to Minister of Culture Vasko Simonit, European commissioner for values and transparency Vera Jourova stated EU member states should refrain from any attempts to put direct or indirect pressure on media, including by withholding necessary financing, and urged the government to fund and preserve STA’s independence. The DNS raised 385,000 euros ($443,000) in support of STA through two fundraising campaigns.
Violence and Harassment: Journalists reported the prime minister and certain other public officials spurred hateful rhetoric in the public discourse and incited threats against journalists. They warned that online attacks and harassment created a hostile environment that could lead to physical violence. For example, in response to a critical article on the deteriorating media situation written by journalist Lili Bayer of the online news site Politico, the prime minister accused Bayer on Twitter of lying and being “instructed not to tell the truth.” On January 25, the prime minister also accused RTV Slovenia of false reporting, expressing hope that RTV’s new director general would “do a better job”. On April 2, the prime minister accused the news portal 24ur.com and Tjasa Slokar Kos, editor in chief of a television program on POP TV, of lying regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and contributing to the number of infected and dead. On May 6, the prime minister accused STA director Bojan Veselinovic of having been an accomplice to the killing of former STA editor in chief Borut Mesko. Veselinovic responded by filing criminal charges and a civil defamation suit against the prime minister.
On June 26, the DNS launched a web platform for journalists to report physical and verbal attacks. As of November 19, a total of 29 cases of alleged attacks against journalists by individuals, politicians, institutions, or media/social media were reported.
There were numerous reports of abuse. On June 15, Gregor Mitev, a 26-year-old man from Maribor, was convicted of assaulting and injuring photojournalist Borut Zivulovic, police officers, and other reporters during the November 2020 violent protests in Ljubljana. Mitev was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison. On September 3, a group of approximately 20 COVID-19 pandemic deniers, who had been protesting in front of RTV Slovenia headquarters and harassing journalists for several months, broke into the RTV Slovenia newsroom studio, demanding broadcast time. They were removed by police and the incident was condemned by RTV Slovenia and top officials as an unacceptable attack on media, journalism, and democracy. On September 22, RTV journalist Eugenija Carl received an envelope addressed to her containing a threatening handwritten note and suspicious white powder. Several media outlets reported that on September 29 and October 11, their crews were intimidated, insulted, pushed, attacked, and obstructed while reporting on protests against COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Ljubljana.
Censorship or Content Restrictions: Instances of overt political pressure on the press remained isolated. The Slovenian Association of Journalists and media analysts observed that standards of journalistic integrity suffered because of economic pressure, nonstandard forms of employment such as freelance or student status, and reduced protections for journalists, especially against online threats, leading some to practice self-censorship.
Libel/Slander Laws: The print and broadcast media, including online newspapers, journals, and book publishers, are subject to laws criminalizing hate speech, libel, and slander. The government has not used the law to retaliate against journalists or political opponents.
d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country
The constitution and law provide for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights.
In-country Movement: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government instituted limitations on internal movement.
Citizenship: Based on a 2012 decision by the European Court of Human Rights, in 2013 the government introduced a system for providing just satisfaction (i.e., restitution for damages) for “erased” citizens of other former Yugoslav republics denied the right to reside legally in the country in the 1990s. As of 2015 more than 10,300 “erased” individuals had regularized their legal status in the country. An additional 3,000 were presumed deceased, and approximately 12,000 were believed to be living abroad with no intention of returning to the country.
f. Protection of Refugees
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees, or asylum seekers as well as other persons of concern.
Access to Asylum: The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees. NGOs alleged that border authorities continued to reject without due process most individuals seeking asylum.
According to the human rights ombudsman, migrants were often returned to the neighboring country, principally Croatia, from which they entered Slovenia without being considered for asylum. The ombudsman stated that failure to follow due process made appeal to authorities impossible and that authorities did not document asylum requests correctly. Migrants lacked access to legal aid.
NGOs reported that asylum seekers returned by police to Croatia had no legal remedies to challenge border police decisions. NGOs alleged Croatian police forcibly pushed returning many migrants to Croatia into Bosnia and Herzegovina. Amnesty International stated that the expulsions from Slovenia took place without appropriate procedural safeguards against refoulement. This situation made it difficult for migrants to apply for international protection.
In August 2020 the Supreme Court overturned an Administrative Court ruling that blocked the return of migrants to Croatia, effectively authorizing the immediate return of migrants to Croatia. The Administrative Court had ruled that fast-track returns based on a bilateral agreement between Slovenia and Croatia but without a specific Slovenian decision in each case violated European and Slovenian law and constitutionally secured rights. The Supreme Court ruled that the 2006 agreement provides for the summary return of migrants.
Abuse of Migrants and Refugees: Due to an increase in numbers of asylum seekers and a backlog of cases, applicants were detained at asylum centers while waiting to file their applications for international protection. The lack of capacity to address large numbers of arrivals resulted in overcrowding and lower hygienic standards and greater health risks.
In August 2020 a migrant rights advocacy group, Taskforce for Asylum, maintained that authorities were violating the rights of foreigners kept at the Center for Aliens in Postojna by returning them to Croatia. The center held 96 asylum seekers as of July 2020, mostly from Afghanistan, Algeria, Morocco, and Pakistan, with 55 of them in the process of obtaining international protection. Pending deportation, they were moved to an asylum home in Logatec that provided them with food, clothing, hygienic accessories, and basic health-care services.
Asylum seekers outside EU resettlement and relocation programs often waited six months or more for their cases to be adjudicated and were barred from working during the initial nine months of this period, although many reportedly worked illegally. Local NGOs criticized this restriction, asserting it made asylum seekers vulnerable to labor exploitation and trafficking due to their illegal status, lack of knowledge of local labor laws, and language barriers.
Freedom of Movement: Local NGOs reported unjustifiable limitations on the movement of asylum seekers residing in government-operated integration houses and asserted that the restrictions had no legal basis. Local NGOs reported that asylum seekers in reception facilities faced detention periods of up to two weeks while authorities processed their initial asylum requests.
Temporary Protection: The government also provided temporary protection (subsidiary protection) to individuals who may not qualify as refugees, but the Ministry of Interior did not maintain separate statistics for refugees and those who qualified for subsidiary protection.