03. 06. 2004

Singer sues Croatian website

ZAGREB, June 3, 2004 –Pop star Severina Vuckovic has accused an Internet site of being responsible for intimate photographs of her now circulating in Croatia. Local tabloids have also published a series of sexually explicit photographs taken from a video recorded by the singer for private purposes.According to the Croatian rumour mill, the tape was given to the media by a former boyfriend of Vuckovic who also appears in the recording. The photographs have opened a debate on the protection of privacy and moral and legal constraints on this issue in both Croatia and Serbia. To date, Vuckovic has made only a short public statement in which she acknowledged that the video was authentic but emphasised that it was private property. Lawyers representing the singer have laid a complaint against Matija Babic, who was the first to release information on a Web site that the video featuring the singer existed. Another of the singer’s legal representatives, Anto Nobilo, says that charges have been brought in the Trade Court and a claim for protection of copyright filed.Civil damages are also being sought. There is as yet no information on whether lawyers representing Vuckovic intend to bring legal action against Belgrade media which have published the photographs over the past two days. Serbia’s Ministry of Culture has said that daily Kurir violated the Public Information Act and exhibited “extreme poor taste” by publishing pornographic photographs of the Croatian singer on its cover and inside pages. "Under the Public Information Act it is forbidden to make pornographic items accessible to teenagers. Pornographic printed items must not include pornography on the front and back covers and must carry a conspicuous warning of explicit sexual content intended only for adults over the age of 18," said the ministry in its statement.