Sarajevo/Banja Luka, 30/04/2022 – The Steering Committee of the BH Journalists Association considers the verbal threats and insults by Davor Dragičević, the father of the tragically killed David Dragičević from Banja Luka, to the media crew of Radio-television Republika Srpska (RTRS) to be inadmissible.
The incident took place in front of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo. Davor Dragičević approached the RTRS team, then insulted the journalist and cameraman with aggressive and inappropriate language, and asked them to apologize for the unprofessional reporting on the tragic death of his son David in March 2018. Although at one point the journalist made a personal apology, Dragičević continued with threats and insults against the crew on the field, as well as the entire team of RTRS.
The Steering Committee of BH Journalists emphasizes that verbal threats and attacks on journalists are unacceptable in any society, including Bosnia and Herzegovina! Violence against journalists cannot be a motive, nor an excuse or response to the unprofessional behavior of journalists and the media, since in Bosnia and Herzegovina there are legal possibilities and institutional mechanisms to protect citizens when their rights are violated in media content. With full understanding of the personal tragedy of Davor Dragičević and his dissatisfaction with the reporting of RTRS, BH Journalists point out that the only democratic and humane way to solve this issue is through the institutions of the system and the existing legal framework.
At the same time, the Steering Committee of BH Journalists believes that RTRS, as a public service of all citizens of Republika Srpska, should accept objections to its own work and resolve them in accordance with the code of journalistic ethics, respecting the dignity of the victim and using and checking different and varied sources of information. In this particular case, it would be responsible and professional for the RTRS, in an extremely honest and objective manner, to review its way of reporting on the death of David Dragičević, to enable the family and the group “Justice for David” to present their view of the whole event, and to issue a public apology to the Dragičević family and significant part of the public in Republika Srpska that is not satisfied with the way of reporting on personal tragedies, as well as on other topics of public importance.
