Slovenia’s investigative newsroom Ostro is facing a coordinated barrage of criminal and data-protection complaints from mayors and ministers in what press-freedom advocates say is an attempt to obstruct its asset-transparency reporting and bog the outlet down with legal pressure.
Slovenia’s non-profit investigative outlet Oštro is facing a wave of legal and administrative attacks from public officials, who accuse the newsroom of violating personal data rules in what press groups describe as an effort to obstruct its reporting.
The pressure began in October, when the municipality of Ljutomer filed both a criminal complaint with the Specialized State Prosecutor’s Office and a separate complaint with Slovenia’s privacy regulator. Officials alleged “unlawful processing of data and the dissemination of false information” — accusations triggered not by published reporting, but by a routine right-of-reply letter Oštro sent to Mayor Olga Karba as part of its Asset Detector project. The outlet asked Karba to verify the accuracy of information on her assets prior to publication.
The questions Oštro submitted covered asset information about Karba and her immediate family, consistent with the project’s goal of promoting political transparency. Similar asset reviews of ministers, state secretaries and MPs have already been published.
Despite that, the district state prosecutor in Murska Sobota confirmed it has opened a preliminary criminal inquiry, though it declined to give details. The municipality is represented by a private law firm that previously appeared in one of Slovenia’s SLAPP cases targeting Oštro’s editor-in-chief, Anuška Delić, for unrelated reporting.
Ljutomer officials also urged the Information Commissioner to take “urgent action.” Within days, two ministers whose asset records had already been published — Defence Minister Borut Sajovic and Education Minister Vinko Logaj — separately lodged their own appeals to the privacy authority. The Commissioner subsequently opened an inspection procedure against Oštro.
As part of that inquiry, state data-protection supervisor Anže Novak demanded explanations about Oštro’s journalistic methods and documentation, including correspondence with both ministers. Citing the General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR, he asked for the legal basis for gathering and retaining politicians’ personal data.
Oštro pushed back, arguing that the Commissioner lacks authority to inspect journalistic data processing when it falls under freedom of expression. Its lawyer stressed that collecting and analysing information on public officials for media reporting is firmly in the public interest.
Press-freedom groups — including the Slovene Journalists’ Association, the International Press Institute and partners, and the Council of Europe — have warned that the complaints amount to coordinated pressure on an investigative newsroom.
The campaign escalated this week, when another mayor, Roman Leljak, announced he too would file a complaint with the Information Commissioner, claiming Oštro’s right-of-reply letter “exceeded permissible and ethical standards of journalism.”
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Oštro founder and editor-in-chief Anuška Delić described the barrage of complaints as “bureaucratic terrorism” that mirrors SLAPP tactics.
SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation - a baseless legal action designed to intimidate and silence critics, activists, journalists, or ordinary citizens speaking out on matters of public interest.
Delić said asset transparency is fundamental to public accountability and democratic oversight.
“The Information Commissioner’s request exhibits a worrisome lack of understanding of the functioning of a free press, specifically data journalism,” Delić said. “It legitimizes politicians’ intent to push Oštro into a situation where its staff spends more time dealing with superfluous and frivolous complaints by public office holders than doing journalism.”
