Journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina are exposed to a wide range of threats arising from a combination of political pressure, legal uncertainty and a fragmented judiciary, and the institutional system does not provide an adequate level of protection, are some of the conclusions of the report “Challenges of legal protection of journalists and media workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
The current media environment in BiH shows increasingly pronounced and worrisome trends in the violation of journalists’ rights, along with the growth of public, political, digital and gender-based threats, according to the report prepared by the “Your Rights BiH” Association. Detector.
Systemic deterioration of media freedom
According to the report, the analysis of trends in violations of journalists’ rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, institutional responses, legislative flows, digital risks and working conditions indicates a serious and systemic deterioration in the state of media freedom.
This report confirms that journalists in BiH are exposed to a wide range of threats, and that the institutional system does not provide an adequate level of protection.
Dragan Vujanović from the organization “Vaša prava” told Detektor that the report was worked on for about six months and was based on two segments – “desk research” and through the platform of analysis of collected data.
“The platform was announced last year and became active then,” he added.
The report states that the vulnerability of journalists stems from a combination of political pressure, legal uncertainty, economic vulnerability, gender-based violence, a fragmented judiciary and growing digital threats.
The environment for freedom of expression is rapidly deteriorating, which is confirmed by the criminalization of defamation in the Republic of Srpska, the increase in self-censorship and the decline in media freedom according to international indices.
“Attacks against journalists are becoming more frequent and serious, especially in the digital space. There has been an intense increase in online threats, coordinated hate campaigns, ‘doxxing’, botnets, hacking and other forms of digital violence aimed at intimidation and discredit,” the report says.
Weak, slow and inconsistent response
As stated, the institutional response remains weak, slow and inconsistent, as evidenced by the mischaracterization of attacks, the delay or suspension of investigations, the absence of convictions and non-compliance with international standards of conduct. The court system does not provide effective protection of journalists or prevent the recurrence of attacks.
Gender-based violence against female journalists is intensifying, including sexualized threats, misogynistic comments, personalized lynching campaigns and silencing strategies. Economic and professional pressures further increase the vulnerability of journalists, which include insecure contracts, low wages, political capture of the media, an increase in SLAPP lawsuits, and a systemic lack of institutional support.
The recommendations of the report are systemic institutional reforms to protect journalists, legal changes aimed at ending abuses and strengthening rights, improving professional and working conditions, strengthening digital security, and sustainable development of digital tools.
