OSCE top officials condemn recent threats against journalists in Bosnia

They named three recent cases in their statement.

One of them is the case of Marko Radoja, the Editor-in-Chief of Bosnia’s Public Service Broadcaster, BHRT, who received a letter containing death threats.

Another one they named was the case of Adnan Jasarspahic, the owner of the Visoko.co.ba web portal and a journalist for FTV, the public broadcaster of the semi-autonomous Federation (FBiH) entity, who filed charges against two persons alleging he was threatened on social media.

Finally, the OSCE officials named the case of Milkica Milojevic, a journalist from the Banja Luka-based daily EuroBlic, who received threats in a phone call.

“These threats against journalists are unacceptable and must be condemned at the highest level. Authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina must increase their efforts to guarantee safe working conditions for media professionals,” said OSCE’s Representative on Freedom of Media, Harlem Désir, adding that he hopes the cases will be thoroughly investigated and that those behind the threats will face justice.

“For the democratic development of the country it is of paramount importance to make sure that safety of journalists is ensured at all times and that impunity not become commonplace,” Désir said.

According to the Head of the OSCE Mission in Bosnia, Bruce Berton, “threats and incidents involving journalists have intensified” since the year began.

He called on authorities in Bosnia to “take all necessary measures to create an environment that enables a truly free and independent media and to end intimidation of journalists.”

“It is unacceptable that journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina face violence and intimidation for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of expression, a right that is essential for democracy,” he said.