BH Journalists Association demands urgent investigation into attack on Hercegovina.info editorial office

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Steering Board of the BH Journalists Association strongly condemns the pressure and attacks on the editorial office of the Hercegovina.info portal and demands that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton urgently investigate the latest case of damage to the property of the portal's owner.

As reported by the Hercegovina.info portal, all four tires of the portal owner Mario Ćosić's private car were found slashed with a knife yesterday. The case has been reported to the police, who are searching for the perpetrators. The editorial office of this portal states that the end of 2022 and the beginning of this year have been marked by a series of attempts to pressure the editorial office, including open threats demanding the deletion of certain articles. 

The Steering Board of the BH Journalists Association once again emphasizes that attacks on journalists, including those manifested through acts of vandalism destroying their personal property, represent the greatest threat to media freedom in a democratic society and instill fear and insecurity in the entire journalistic community. Journalists and media in Bosnia and Herzegovina are increasingly exposed to more aggressive pressures in attempts to silence investigative journalism. These pressures often come from politicians who, by publicly targeting certain journalists and media outlets, send a message to citizens that attacks on media professionals are permissible, and even desirable. 

This practice must finally be stopped. Institutions at the state level must ensure more effective protection for journalists, including through amendments to criminal laws that will treat attacks on journalists as a specific criminal offense, and political leaders should clearly and unequivocally condemn any form of attack on journalists and the endangerment of freedom of expression. 

The Steering Board of the BH Journalists Association gives its full support to the editorial office of the Hercegovina.info portal in the fight for independent, investigative journalism. We expect the competent institutions of HNK to prioritize the mentioned case and find and sanction the perpetrators as soon as possible in accordance with the law. 

We also invite all other journalists and media outlets to report attacks and pressures to our Journalists' Help Line, where they can receive free legal advice and support, as well as representation of their case before the competent institutions.