Press Council: Condemnation of verbal attacks and threats against journalists of Glas Srpske and RTRS

The belittling of RTRS and "Glas Srpske" journalists with misogynistic verbal attacks by the Minister of Security of BiH, Dragan Mektić, and the Deputy Chief Auditor of the Audit Office of BiH Institutions, Dževad Nekić, are an unacceptable pressure on the free work and reporting of these media outlets, reports the Patria News Agency.

In the name of the public's democratic right to know - media and journalists have the right to convey negative information and critical opinions about the work of political figures and public officials.

Journalists have an obligation to the public to report professionally and present facts about events or individuals. Likewise, individuals who believe they have been written about inappropriately or defamed have the right to seek moral satisfaction by requesting a correction of false statements and the publication of a denial, presenting counter-arguments to the originally published statements; they also have the right to legal protection and potential compensation for damages, if the court, understanding freedom of reporting, determines that the truth has been violated.

In BiH, there are institutions, the Press Council in BiH and the Communications Regulatory Agency of BiH, which are at the service of all citizens, including politicians and public officials, if they wish to file a denial or react to inaccurate media reporting. These are civilized, democratic methods of the right to reply and the right to a denial.

Unfortunately, instead of using these methods, insults against journalists, especially female journalists, with discriminatory, misogynistic language and threats are becoming increasingly frequent if certain public figures are not satisfied with their questions at press conferences or reports published in the media.

The Press Council in BiH reminds public figures of Article 1 of the Council of Europe's "Declaration on Freedom of Political Debate," which states that "Pluralistic democracy and freedom of political debate require the public to be informed about matters of public interest, which includes the right of the media to convey negative information and critical opinions about political figures and public officials, as well as the public's right to know them."

The same Declaration also emphasizes, in Article 4 - "Public Scrutiny of Public Officials," that "Public officials must accept that they will be subject to public scrutiny and criticism, particularly through the media, for the way in which they have performed or are performing their duties, as this is necessary to ensure transparency and responsible performance of duties," it was announced from the Press Council.