The lawyer representing the European University Kallos in Tuzla, in ongoing proceedings, informed us, as well as numerous other organisations, that he would have filed lawsuits against our Bosnian affiliate, BH Novinari, following a statement expressing support for two targeted journalists by the lawyer.

The journalists Anisa Mahmutović and Adis Mujdanović were portrayed as ‘corrupted’ in a series of online posts two days after they testified before the Commission for the Fight Against Corruption of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding their reporting on alleged irregularities involving private universities in the country, including the European University Kallos in Tuzla.

Although it is not yet known whether lawsuits have been filed against BH Novinari, we stand in full solidarity with our affiliate, whose credibility has been publicly questioned following the fulfilment of its core mission: supporting journalists under attack.

We are also concerned that the numerous online posts targeting journalists Mahmutović and Mujdanović, and our affiliate, may fuel hostility towards them, given the increased number of intimidation and threatening cases we have been monitoring in Bosnia and Herzegovina in recent years.

We fully support our esteemed colleagues who provide valuable daily support to journalists, despite facing regular pressure to do so ! This new case was documented on the platform of the Media Freedom Rapid Response – MFRR, Mapping Media Freedom and will be reported to the Council of Europe Media Freedom platform.