The General Assembly of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today adopted an emergency resolution calling on the World Press Photo organisation to withdraw the award it presented in 1993 to photographer Bojan Stojanović. The resolution was submitted by the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS).
The resolution points to testimony presented before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indicating that police officers deliberately arranged for photographers to be present in order to photograph the killing of Muslim prisoners Husein Kršo and Hajrudin Muzurović for propaganda purposes.
The resolution also specifically highlights the investigative article “Killing for a Photograph” by journalist Barbara Matejčić, which presents credible evidence that the photographers were not present at the scene by chance. Testimony before the ICTY, including that of Goran Jelisić, a former police officer sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment for war crimes, indicates that police officers intentionally organised the presence of photographers to document the killing of Husein Kršo and Hajrudin Muzurović as part of a propaganda operation.
As emphasised during the presentation of the resolution, this case goes far beyond an incorrect photo caption or the uncertainty of wartime circumstances. Rather, it concerns the possibility that a photograph produced as part of a propaganda operation, which at the time falsely represented the identity and dignity of a civilian victim of a war crime, continues to hold one of the most prestigious awards in photojournalism.
On 28 April 2026, NUNS and the BH Journalists Association formally requested that World Press Photo revoke the 1993 award. On 3 June 2026, the organisation rejected the request, stating that, after reviewing the submitted documentation and re-examining its archival material, it had found no verifiable evidence that would justify withdrawing the award.
However, testimony before the ICTY exists. A thoroughly documented investigative article exists. Two journalists’ associations have filed formal complaints. The family of Husein Kršo is still waiting for official recognition.
Through the adopted resolution, the EFJ calls on World Press Photo to revoke the 1993 award, issue a formal acknowledgement to the family of Husein Kršo regarding the false representation of the victim and the harm caused by the continued retention of the award, and ensure that appropriate contextual information accompanies the photograph in its archives and all future communications.
The EFJ also expresses its full support for the public petition that journalists’ organisations from the region, members of the SafeJournalists Network, will launch, and calls on the international journalism community to support this initiative.