Delić: We did not file a criminal complaint against journalists, moreover, we did not file a criminal complaint at all

(Patria) - We did not file a criminal complaint against journalists, moreover, we did not file a criminal complaint at all, claims the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, headed by Adnan Delić (NIP).

"We filed a report with the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office to investigate the existence of a potential criminal offense of disclosing official documents with a signature without permission and authorization, or to investigate the existence of a so-called mole within the FBiH Government institutions, as stated in the report.

Therefore, we are asking for responsibility to be determined for any of the officials employed in the institutions, and we do not have, nor do we want to have, influence on how the Prosecutor's Office will conduct the process and in which direction the investigative actions will go," they state.

Regarding public accusations, the BH Journalists Association points out that BH Journalists stumbled upon half-information 'whose ultimate goal we do not interpret, nor do we pay attention to it, but we are surprised by the attack without verifying the information because to this day we have not received a single inquiry from a journalist, nor a request for free access to information on this topic'.

"Only today did we receive an inquiry from an Al Jazeera Balkans journalist asking if we had filed a criminal complaint, to which we responded because we value impartial and objective reporting, always and without reservation.

We will also always stand by journalists when they write and speak the truth, as long as they are within the framework of this country's laws and the standards of their profession. Those who illegally want to shape laws for others cannot expect us to take them seriously. Moreover, we will not hesitate to say so clearly.

I want to emphasize that we have no reservations when it comes to cooperation with professional journalists and media, and that we have never refused to provide information to anyone who requested it from us. Perhaps we have forgotten something at times, but we have never refused to provide information.

And most importantly, all our documentation is published on our website, so it was not necessary at all for official documents to be taken out of institutions in an unauthorized manner, and we will, of course, not allow officials to do such a thing because it is a violation of the law that implies strict disciplinary measures.

And there is also the Law on Free Access to Information, so if it happens that a journalist cannot get information from us in any of these ways, then they can say that they are defending the system from abuse and corruption.

Until then, in manipulations disguised in the cloak of guardians of a democratic society, we will see only that: manipulations," it is further stated.