Zenica/Sarajevo, 15.10.2026. – The BH Journalists Association has sent an open letter to Zenica Mayor Fuad Kasumović, members of the Zenica City Council and representatives of the Zenica City Administration regarding yesterday’s City Council session, during which journalists and media crews were prevented from covering the proceedings and subsequently accused of “putting pressure” on the local authorities and disrupting the session.

“We consider it necessary to draw attention to a serious problem in your understanding of media freedom and journalists’ right to access public events. At the same time, we strongly condemn the targeted attacks on the media through Mayor Kasumović’s public statement and the remarks of other officials, as well as the labelling of journalists as the ‘main culprits’ for the denial of heating to the citizens of Zenica,” reads the letter signed on behalf of the BH Journalists’ Steering Board by Secretary General Borka Rudić.

“It is absurd and unacceptable to attempt to shift responsibility for the interruption of the City Council session onto journalists and the media, particularly when the alleged failure to comply with procedures is not supported by specific provisions of the applicable legal acts of the City of Zenica. We believe you are aware that the Statute of the City of Zenica and other acts governing the work of city institutions are based on the principle of transparency in the work of elected representatives and appointed officials. These acts are publicly available, and the authorities cannot interpret them according to their immediate political needs. Transparency in the work of public institutions is not a matter of goodwill on the part of the mayor or the City Council majority, but a fundamental obligation of institutions towards citizens,” the letter further states, emphasising that journalists are neither the opposition nor political opponents of the authorities:

“The task of journalists is to report on the work of institutions and inform citizens, even when covering issues that are uncomfortable for public officeholders. Political accusations of ‘bot-driven pressure’, ‘artificial tension’ and alleged political scenarios for which you blame the media cannot obscure the facts or absolve those of you who make decisions within the Zenica City Administration and City Council of responsibility.”

As BH Journalists previously emphasised, the letter states, “the City Council is not a private space belonging to its members, but an institution that makes decisions on issues of direct public interest to all citizens”:

“At the same time, the mayor and his office are not a separate body entitled to behave autocratically and conceal information from the public, but a local government service that should operate in the interests of the citizens of Zenica. In this context, when decisions that directly affect citizens’ living standards are being discussed, any ban, particularly one restricting media coverage, is not only contrary to generally accepted media freedom standards but also seriously undermines citizens’ right to information,” the letter states, further emphasising:

“Those who made the decision to interrupt the session are responsible for it, not the journalists who were trying to do their jobs. If there were any procedural shortcomings, they are a matter of the working procedures, conduct and accountability of the city authorities, not the media, whose role is to report on events of public significance. We expect the mayor, the City Administration and the Zenica City Council to respect the principle of transparency in the work of public institutions, ensure that journalists can cover council sessions freely and on an equal footing, and stop treating media coverage as an obstacle to institutional work.”

In light of the above, BH Journalists are demanding the following from the mayor, the City Administration and the Zenica City Council:

1. To publicly explain the legal grounds on which journalists were prevented from covering the City Council session;
2. To specify which procedures journalists allegedly violated and provide evidence to substantiate these claims;
3. To provide the public and citizens with accurate information about the circumstances that led to the interruption of yesterday’s City Council session and the purpose behind that decision;
4. To ensure that the media can attend future City Council sessions freely, on an equal footing and transparently, in accordance with the applicable legislation and legal acts governing the City Administration and City Council.