Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, on Monday tweeted a message accusing Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, of spreading "fake news" after she had criticized media freedom in Slovenia in a recent report.

In her report released last week, Mijatovic called on Slovenian government to do something to stop the deteriorating situation in that country in terms of media freedoms and freedom of speech.

In his tweet on Monday, Jansa said Mijatovic is “part of fake news network.”

Unfortunately, @Dunja_Mijatovic is part of #fakenews network. Well paid by our money. https://t.co/uFangFwSjm

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) June 6, 2021

In her report, which came after Mijatovic had visited Slovenia to talk to to a number of state officials there, she wrote that problems in Slovenian media include threats and intimidation directed at journalists, as well as lawsuits targeting some of them. She warned that “some actions of Slovenian government” could erode independence, credibility, and financial stability of public media, Croatian state agency reported.

Slovenian Prime Minister and long-time right-wing figure, Janez Jansa, came into power in March 2020 after the previous government, a broad and unstable centre-left coalition, fell apart.

Ever since taking office, Jansa began what Hina called “a war of words” with local journalists, often accusing them of working in the interest of “the extreme left,” and of trying to bring about the fall of his government. According to Hina, others object to his “authoritarian” style, and his attempt to influence independent state organizations.