Drago Hedl (born 24 January 1950) is a Croatian

investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

. Drago Hedl was born in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

and became a professional journalist in 1980. He was an Editor-in-Chief of ''

Glas Slavonije ''Glas Slavonije'' () is a Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = ...

'', an Osijek-based daily, from 1986 to 1991, and a war correspondent for ''

Slobodna Dalmacija ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split. The first issue of ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' was published on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city ...

'', a Split-based daily, from 1991 to 1994. Following that, he joined IWPR's London-based War Report and then spent several years leading training programs for young journalists throughout the Balkan region. Hedl later wrote for ''

Feral Tribune ''Feral Tribune'' was a Croatian political weekly magazine. Based in Split, it first started as a political satire supplement in '' Nedjeljna Dalmacija'' (the Sunday edition of the ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' daily newspaper) before evolving into an in ...

'', and '' Novi list''. Hedl was a long-time collaborator of

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

. His articles were published by many newspapers and magazines, among them ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' and ''

Die Wochenzeitung ''WOZ Die Wochenzeitung'', (commonly abbreviated as ''WOZ'' or ''Wochenzeitung''), is a Swiss, German-language weekly newspaper, published in Zürich (Switzerland). History ''Die WochenZeitung'' (WoZ) first appeared on 1 October 1981. It was ba ...

'' (Zurich). In 2008 he became an investigative journalist for the Zagreb-based daily '' Jutarnji list''. Hedl is best known for his investigative work for ''Feral Tribune'' and from 2008 for ''Jutarnji list'' in uncovering war crimes during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

. This earned him a 2006 Knight International Journalism Award from the

International Center for Journalists International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is a non-profit, professional organization located in Washington, D.C., United States, that promotes journalism worldwide. Since 1984, the International Center for Journalists has worked directly with ...

, the CEI-SEEMO Investigative Journalism Award by the Central European Initiative in 2008 and a 2011 ''Dr.

Erhard Busek Erhard Busek (25 March 1941 – 13 March 2022) was an Austrian politician from the Christian-conservative People's Party ( ÖVP). Throughout his political career, he was widely regarded as one of the leaders of the party's liberal wing. He was ...

'' Award for Better Understanding in South East Europe from the

South East Europe Media Organisation South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non-profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. The organization aims to create a bridge between in ...

. He was also the recipient of the

Order of Stjepan Radić The Order of Stjepan Radić ( hr, Red Stjepana Radića) is a Croatian national decoration which ranks thirteenth in importance. The order was formed on 1 April 1995. The Order of Stjepan Radić is granted to Croatians and foreigners for services ...

in 2011 for his "contribution to the fight for human rights, the promotion of democracy and the discovery of truth" and the Otokar Keršovani Prize from the

Croatian Journalists' Association The Croatian Journalists' Association ( hr, Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo or HND) is a Croatian association based in Zagreb aimed at promoting freedom of the press and free speech in journalism. The association was founded in December 1910 and ha ...

for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism in 2015. "Drago Hedl has endured death threats, government litigation, beatings by local politicians and army soldiers, among others, and verbal abuse for his reporting of war crimes in Yugoslavia in the 1990s. His struggle against ultra-nationalism, wartime propaganda and hate speech, and for tolerance and the rule of law, has led to accusations of treason. His support for complying with demands to send indicted war criminals to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague has further provoked his opponents. Nothing, however, has deterred him from solid and objective coverage of a sensitive topic in his homeland." Hedl has written seven books and has been the scriptwriter for three films, including ''Vukovar – poslednji rez'' (''Vukovar – Final Cut''), a 2006 documentary film about the

Battle of Vukovar The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Bar ...

. His book, ''Glavaš – kronika jedne destrukcije'' (2010), an account of the involvement of warlord and politician

Branimir Glavaš Branimir Glavaš (born 23 September 1956 in Osijek) is a Croatian former major general and Right-wing politics, right-wing politician. He was one of the founders of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party which was in power in the 1990s and one of ...

in war crimes in Osijek, has been very favorably received. Hedl has been married for eight years to Ivana, a fellow journalist, and has one son, Matija. He holds a bachelor's degree in Yugoslav literature.

References

External links

Drago Hedl

Promocija knjiga o Glavašu i Gotovini

Drago Hedl: Strah je najstarija emocija, starija od ljubavi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedl, Drago 1950 births Croatian journalists People from Osijek Investigative journalists Living people Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni