We demand criminal responsibility for the explicit threats against journalist Rita Behadini

AJM •︎ 25/07/2023

We demand criminal responsibility for the explicit threats against journalist Rita Behadini

Translations: Skopje 

  • Case info

  • Personal info

  • Regional center
    Skopje
  • Gender
    Female
  • Victim(s) name
    Рита Бехадини

  • Media outlet

  • Name of the media outlet
    Alsat M
  • Type of media platform
    Radio
  • Source of information about the incident
    https://znm.org.mk/en/we-demand-criminal-responsibility-for-the-explicit-threats-against-journalist-rita-behadini-from-alsat-m/

  • Incident Data

  • Date of incident
    24.07.2023
  • City
    Skopje
  • Perpetrator(s)
    Not known
  • Attacked by
    (ordinary) citizens
  • Type of incident
    life_threat

  • Action by the authorities

  • Action taken by the journalists' association

  • Was journalist's association informed by the journalists directly?
    Yes

The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) demands an immediate reaction to the explicit threats directed at the journalist Rita Behadini on her post regarding the public attitude by the hodja from Saraj on the social network Facebook.

Colleague Behadini addressed AJM today with a report that in recent days she has been the target of threats from people with profiles on the social network Facebook, but one that contains an explicit threat.

In the post from a certain profile named as Fisnik Hoxha, the following threat is indicated: “Please delete the post you wrote against the hodja, your family will be ****.” Tomorrow I will come at Alsat M, I will cut your ear with a knife” and it represents a direct call for physical violence against the journalist Behadini, which threatens her safety, and potentially the safety of other colleagues from this media.

This explicit threat to the life of the journalist Behadini has been reported to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to the Department of Computer Crime and Digital Forensics and at the same time AJM will insist on a quick and efficient investigation in the interest of finding and sanctioning the author or authors of this threat.

We point out that threats to life are crimes included in the Criminal Code for which a prison sentence is provided for the perpetrators, and the Ministry of the Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office should immediately investigate and process them in order to punish those who violate the law, but also to prevent possible such crimes in the future.

For this type of threats this year, AJM issued a Protocol for the Safety of Female Journalists on the Internet, which offers practical steps for journalists to take when they are the subject of threats through social networks and on the Internet in general, through the proactive involvement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the protection of journalists and media workers with a special focus on female journalists.