Sarajevo, May 9, 2024 – Steering Committee of BH Journalists sends a public protest to Elmedin Konakovic, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) due to the repeated, security-threatening attack on Avdo Avdic, journalist and editor of Istraga.ba portal. Minister Konakovic published video material on his Facebook profile, in which various announcements and clips from Avdic’s interview are used, in order to discredit this journalist professionally and personally, and expose him to security risks.
The Steering Committee of BH Journalists assesses as shocking the fact that Minister Konakovic is sharing a video on Facebook that tries to completely dehumanize Avdo Avdic, in which he presents himself as a man unworthy of any respect and towards whom hatred is encouraged. In the manner of the Goebbelsian propaganda machine, Minister Konakovic writes with the publication of this video “There is no stopping now, this story must go to the end!”, which may imply even more drastic actions of his and/or those around him according to the journalist Avdic.
The Steering Committee of BiH Journalists assesses that the last action of Minister Konakovic is beyond all reason, as well as the values that should be represented by the head of BiH diplomacy, paid with the money of the citizens of BiH and charged with leading the policy of building and preserving European principles, of which media freedom is an integral part. As is known, for the past few years Konakovic has been denouncing and threatening journalists on a daily basis. This should already be a red alarm for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NiP (People and Justice Party) to distance themselves from these and similar actions of Konakovic towards journalists.
The Steering Committee of BH Journalists calls on the Federal Police Administration and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton Sarajevo to urgently undertake a legal and urgent investigation, as well as measures that will ensure the removal of the controversial propaganda video and the sanctioning of all persons behind its production and publication on Facebook.
Steering Committee of BH Journalists Association