Despite established failures by Split doctors and nine key errors by the Ministry, the Municipal State Attorney's Office in Split dismissed the criminal complaint, and the Croatian Journalists' Association calls the death of their colleague a cover-up.
On this day, August 5, 2022, journalist Vladimir Matijanić died in Split at the age of 51. His death followed days of refusal of medical assistance and hospitalization at Split's hospital, despite his persistent calls and his family's pleas. Four years later, no one has been held accountable for his death.
"This was medically assisted murder," is the clear stance of the Croatian Journalists' Association (CJA), but state institutions do not share this view. The Ministry of Health initially denied any responsibility, and after a year and a half of investigation, the Municipal State Attorney's Office in Split dismissed the criminal complaint for negligent treatment against a number of individuals.
Matijanić, who suffered from Sjögren's syndrome, interstitial lung disease, and COVID-19, first sought help on Tuesday, August 2. He was admitted to the emergency department of Split's Infectious Disease Clinic but was sent home without an adequate examination.
Over the next four days, he called the Split Infectious Disease Clinic multiple times, reciting all his diagnoses to medical staff and saying he lacked the strength to take even a few steps. He received advice like: "Call back in five days if you don't feel better" and "pee in a pot by your bed." His family and friends called ten times, pleading for his admission, but to no avail.
On the fateful day of August 5, an emergency medical team that came to his home refused to hospitalize him, explaining he had "normal COVID symptoms." The same team returned an hour and a half later, but their resuscitation attempts failed, and he was pronounced dead.
The Health Inspectorate found a series of irregularities, and the Ombudswoman identified nine key errors by the Ministry of Health in this case. Nevertheless, the Ministry's committee's main conclusion was: "The healthcare system functions."
After two expert assessments by the Zagreb School of Medicine, the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia (DORH) decided not to proceed. Based on toxicological findings, forensic and multidisciplinary assessments, the prosecutor's office claims there were no major failures and that hospitalization would not have prevented the fatal outcome. It also did not determine whether the drug Remdesivir was available or whether its administration would have changed anything.
DORH believes that the communication Matijanić had with Split hospital staff, his general practitioner, and emergency services did not indicate a need for hospitalization. They also concluded that both emergency visits followed protocol and that the team acted correctly.
Once it became clear that no one would be held accountable, the Croatian Journalists' Association issued a sharp statement: "The medically assisted murder of journalist Vladimir Matijanić has been predictably covered up so that the main culprits bear no responsibility, not even political, and speaking of moral responsibility is superfluous."
Vladimir Matijanić was born in Split, where he also died. He began his career at Slobodna Dalmacija, continued at Feral Tribune, and spent his final years working for the Index portal. He was an investigative journalist known for his sharp articles exposing systemic anomalies. Among his most significant discoveries were the forged master's degree of Ante Đapić at the Faculty of Law in Split and a series of articles on plagiarized parts of the doctoral thesis of Vice Mihanović, HDZ's candidate for mayor of Split and director of the Port Authority in Split.
For that series of articles, he received the CJA's "Marija Jurić Zagorka" award for online journalism, and posthumously a lifetime achievement award. The CJA considers him the best journalist of his generation.
