Mostar/Sarajevo, 5 February 2026 – The BH Journalists Association (BHJA) expresses serious concern and strongly condemns the public verbal attack by the Mayor of Mostar, Mario Kordić, against the local news portal Mostar.live, as well as the unfounded accusations directed at the journalists of this media outlet, made during yesterday’s press conference in Mostar. Accusing the media and journalists of being “mercenaries” and acting in the interests of political structures, without any facts or evidence, constitutes unacceptable pressure on media freedom and a gross violation of fundamental democratic rights and standards of freedom of expression.
It is particularly problematic when such messages come from holders of executive power, as this represents an abuse of public office for the purpose of confronting critical media and an attempt to discourage journalistic scrutiny of the work of public institutions. Instead of addressing the content of the published articles and responding to legitimate journalistic questions, the Mayor of Mostar chose to discredit the media and label journalists, thereby further undermining trust in institutions and in public dialogue.
It is also concerning that Mayor Kordić wasted his first press conference – organised after months of the City Administration being closed to direct contact with the media – and the time reserved for journalists’ questions, on lecturing journalists about what they should write about and how they should do so. In doing so, he not only violated the right of the media to work freely without interference by public authorities, but also demonstrated a very low level of acceptance of media criticism regarding the manner in which the City Administration of Mostar and the Mayor himself perform their public duties. Such an approach is contrary to EU standards on freedom of expression and the values of free criticism of public officials, as set out in the Council of Europe’s Declaration on Freedom of Political Debate in the Media.
BH Journalists call on the Mayor of Mostar and all other public officials to refrain from inflammatory and unsubstantiated rhetoric towards the media and to use their public appearances to contribute to the creation of an environment in which journalists can perform their work freely, without pressure, in the public interest and in a professional and responsible manner.
Yesterday’s verbal attack on journalists in Mostar is just one in a growing number of increasingly frequent cases in which political officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina use inflammatory and offensive rhetoric towards journalists and the media, deliberately creating an atmosphere of fear, insecurity and self-censorship. The conscious creation of such an environment by representatives of the authorities directly threatens citizens’ right to timely, accurate, and pluralistic information.
BH Journalists call on all journalists and media outlets not to give in to political pressure and to report every case of public targeting, threats or defamatory statements to the Free Media Help Line (FMHL) in order to ensure legal support and, where grounds exist, initiate appropriate legal proceedings to protect the professional and personal rights of journalists.
Steering Committee of the BH Journalists Association
