Restrictions on expression and the press, including intimidation and threats against journalists, widespread government corruption and crimes involving violence against minorities and LGBTI persons are the most significant human rights issues in Bosnia, said the US State Department’s Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2017.
According to the report, Bosnia's authorities continued to exert pressure on media outlets to discourage some forms of expression, while party and governmental control over the major information outlets narrowed the range of opinions represented in both entities.
In the part called “Violence and Harassment”, the report mentioned the case of a story published on June 29 by CNN's regional affiliate N1, about a boy crying and begging for food during the Muslim's fasting month of Ramadan, when N1 news director Amir Zukic and N1's reporter Adisa Imamovic were subject to “serious threats”, posted on the Facebook page Bosnjaci.net.
“N1 filed a criminal complaint against Bosnjaci.net, accusing the website of jeopardizing the safety of its journalists by publishing threatening commentary that incited religious and national hatred. Despite the complaint, the threats continued, and legal proceedings over the criminal complaint were ongoing at year’s end,” the report emphasized.
The State Department's report also recalled that the Office of the President of the Republika Srpska entity, semi-autonomous unit in Bosnia, refused to issue credentials to N1 in January last year. Following the criticism from the Journalism Association and the Bosnia's Communications Regulatory Agency, authorities issued credentials to both N1 and a recognized pro-opposition media outlet BNTV.
Among other things, the report assessed that civilian authorities in Bosnia maintained effective control and coordination over law enforcement agencies and security forces, while a lack of clear division of jurisdiction and responsibilities between the country’s 16 law enforcement agencies resulted in occasional confusion and overlapping responsibilities.
