BH journalists call on the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office to urgently halt all investigative actions against journalists from Hayat TV, as well as the portals SB and Istraga

(Patria) - The Management Board of the BH Journalists Association and the Journalists' Help Line sends a public protest to Adnan Delić, Minister of Labor and Social Policy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), due to attempts to criminalize journalists and media outlets that reported on his intentions to unlawfully distribute public funds to citizens' associations in
this entity.

Minister Delić filed a criminal complaint with the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office and requested
from judicial and police institutions an investigation into who provided journalists from Hayat TV and
the portals Slobodna Bosna and Istraga.ba with documents on the basis of which they reported on
an attempt at illegal and non-transparent distribution of 728,000 KM in budget funds.
Acting on the basis of Minister Delić's complaint, the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office issued
several orders to the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Interior, whose officers requested from Hayat TV that they
be provided with data on the journalists who wrote the aforementioned text, in order to "question them
as witnesses."

Filing a criminal complaint against journalists and media represents a serious attack on freedom of
expression and media freedom, as well as an attempt to deprive journalists of the right to critically
question the decisions of public officials and use information obtained from
anonymous sources. The Management Board of BH Journalists reminds Minister Delić that, by
assuming a public office, he voluntarily agreed to public criticism of the way he performs
his duties and makes decisions, which is why it is completely unbelievable that he responds with a criminal
complaint to media content he dislikes!? BH Journalists therefore
remind him that in democratic societies and free political debate, ministers
mostly "defend" themselves with arguments and evidence, not by persecuting journalists or
criminalizing them with the aim of misleading the public about the actual facts and methods
of disposing of budget funds.

Particularly surprising is the decision of the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office to uncritically accept Minister Delić's criminal complaint
and resort to legal actions contrary to the standards of the Council of Europe on the protection of freedom of expression and the application of Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Fundamental
Human Rights and Freedoms. The order to collect data on journalists from Hayat TV and
their potential questioning as witnesses is also contrary to the provisions
of Article 96 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the FBiH, which prohibits the questioning of journalists
regarding the disclosure of sources of information.

The Management Board of BH Journalists calls on the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office to urgently halt all investigative actions
against journalists from Hayat TV, as well as the portals Slobodna Bosna and Istraga.ba, to withdraw the order for
questioning journalists as witnesses, and to dismiss Delić's criminal complaint in its entirety as
unfounded.

At the same time, the Management Board of BH Journalists gives full support to the journalists of Slobodna Bosna, Hayat
TV, and the portal Istraga.ba in their intention to protect their sources, and encourages them to refuse to provide
the police with any data or documents that could compromise the confidentiality and integrity of sources
of information, as well as the trust between sources of information and these three media outlets.