The Board of Directors of the BH Journalists Association and the Helpline for Journalists demand that the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) suspend investigations that may have negative consequences for the protection of journalistic sources and the preservation of professional secrecy, which were initiated in connection with the order of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on the interrogation of journalist Avdo Avdic, editor of the Istraga.ba portal, and the people responsible for Hayat TV.

The Board of Directors expressed its astonishment at the fact that journalist Avdo Avdic and the Hayat TV editorial team were called to the premises of the SIPA Agency to testify, without having been previously informed in writing in what capacity they were being called or in connection with what crime.

The Management Board also emphasized that the order on the interrogation of journalists conflicts with the BiH Law on Criminal Procedure provisions, which prohibit the interrogation of journalists from revealing business secrets and sources of information.

“As is well known, journalists and other media workers can and should reveal their sources only in cases where their information could help the investigative authorities in discovering the perpetrators of war crimes and other murders,” they said.

The Board encouraged journalist Avdic and Hayat TV colleagues to refuse to give SIPA Agency inspectors any data or documents that could violate the confidentiality and integrity of their source of information, until they are informed in detail why they have been called to testify, i.e. what criminal is their testimony related to, the BH Journalists Association said.