The Journalists Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina urged authorities on Thursday to sanction those behind a video posted online which accuses the journalist who revealed alleged wrongdoing regarding the procurement of Chinese ventilators which are unfit for treating COVID-19, Semira Degirmendzic, of lying and publishing stories that were “ordered”.
The suspicious import of Chinese ventilators has been at the centre of attention in Bosnia since the end of April. Reports about the multi-million contract authorities in Bosnia’s Federation (FBiH) region granted to FH Srebrena Malina, a fruit processing company, to import 100 Chinese ventilators caused public outrage and prompted an investigation into the procurement procedure by police and prosecutors.
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Prosecutors later found that the ventilators are unfit for treating COVID-19.
FBiH Prime Minister, Fadil Novalic, has meanwhile been named a suspect in the case, along with the former Head of the Civil Protection Authority, Fahrudin Solak, and the owner of Srebrena Malina, Fikret Hodzic.
Degirmendzic has previously told N1 that journalists reporting on the case are facing a lot of pressure from officials involved in the deal.
“In a twisted system of values which we bear witness to every day, it turned out that pointing fingers at illegal activity at a time of the biggest crisis which the country faced has become something that is fake and was done on someone's orders, while it became desirable to defend the perpetrators of suspicious activities,” said the Association.
“We expect from law enforcement to react urgently and make the names of those responsible public,” it said.
