Sarajevo, 1 November 2026 – On the occasion of 2 November, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, BH Journalists Association is launching a campaign in which women and men journalists speak about the importance of media workers’ safety, their personal experiences with threats and attacks and the responses of the police, prosecutors’ offices and courts in cases involving threats to their safety.
As part of the campaign, starting tomorrow, BH Journalists will publish video statements by journalists from different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina on its Facebook, Instagram and X accounts. Their testimonies will highlight the consequences of attacks on individuals and the entire journalistic community, as well as the importance of an institutional response when journalists face threats and violence because of their work.
The aim of the campaign is to remind the public and relevant institutions that journalists’ safety cannot be reduced to declarations of support for media freedom. It requires effective investigations, the timely prosecution of perpetrators, appropriate sanctions, and a clear message that attacks on journalists will not go unpunished.
Since the beginning of 2025, courts have issued 13 rulings in favour of journalists through the first-response assistance and legal representation provided by the Free Media Help Line (FMHL). This is an encouraging result that demonstrates the importance of legal support and perseverance in defending journalists’ rights and securing justice. Nevertheless, individual positive court outcomes cannot obscure the fact that, in a large number of cases, investigations are discontinued, fail to produce the expected results or end with sanctions that are not commensurate with the severity of the attacks and their consequences.
According to the records of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC BiH), a total of 25 cases involving journalists and media outlets were registered in 2025. By the end of the year, indictments had been filed in four cases, decisions not to open an investigation had been issued in two cases, and two cases had been joined with other proceedings. The number of recorded cases was lower than in 2024, when prosecutors’ offices handled 36 cases in which journalists were the injured parties. In as many as 19 of those cases, decisions were made not to open or to discontinue investigations.
These figures point to the need for continuous monitoring of the actions taken by the police and judicial institutions in cases of attacks on journalists, as well as greater transparency regarding investigations and the prosecution of perpetrators. For this reason, BH Journalists call on police agencies, prosecutors’ offices and courts to treat every attack on journalists seriously, act without delay and ensure effective protection for women and men journalists. It is particularly important for institutions to improve their mutual cooperation, consistently enforce the law and ensure that reporting threats and attacks does not become an additional source of pressure for those who have already been subjected to violence.
The protection of journalists is an institutional obligation and a prerequisite for a democratic society. Journalists must be able to report without fear of threats, physical violence, pressure or intimidation and their safety must not depend on whom they report on or which issues they cover. The fight against impunity does not end with the conviction of a single perpetrator or the delivery of a single court ruling. It requires a system in which attacks are consistently investigated, justice is served, and all journalists can carry out their work freely and safely.
