PRISTINA, 19.03.2021 – The Association of Journalists of Kosovo – AJK, with concern has received the news of threats and obstruction towards the KALLXO.com team, journalists Arbisa Shefiku and the cameraman, Denis Sllovinja in Rahovec by Mehdi Shehu and another person.

The team was threatened three days ago while they were shooting near the tekke “Shejh Iljazi Rifai”, regarding the case of a parking lot that the municipality has given permission to use this space to Mehdi Shehu, without the consent of  the residents and the Municipal Assembly.

As soon as they started filming the parking lot, the journalist and the cameraman were threatened by a person who came out of the tekke and addressed them with the words: “Be aware, you may enjoy living because you are still young”. After this threat, Mehdi Shehu, came out and obstructed the team by not allowing them to film by saying that they don’t have a permission.

The case was reported to the Kosovo Police and after receiving the statements of the team, the prosecutor of the case, Anton Hasanaj, closed the case and stated that there are no elements of a criminal offense. The closing of the case by the prosecutor, according to KALLXO.com, came without reading the statements of the journalists, without evaluating the evidence and only by phone.

However, according to their reports, the case continues to be investigated by police units, who have notified the prosecutor.

For AJK, such actions toward journalists and media professionals who are doing their duty, puts pressure on them. Threats, obstruction and other forms of intimidation of our colleagues have recently increased and this is threatening the safety of journalists, their independent reporting and the general freedom of the media in Kosovo.

AJK calls on the competent authorities to take action against the behavior of these two persons who have threatened and obstructed the KALLXO.com team.

SARAJEVO, 19.03.2021. – The Steering Committee of the BH Journalists Association invites editors, journalists and all media professionals in Bosnia and Herzegovina to report on current events related to the COVID-19 pandemic professionally, objectively and respecting the ethical standards of the journalistic profession, especially the privacy and dignity of patients, and not to subject to sensationalism and the publication of news that spreads fear and unrest among the population.

We are witnesses that the current situation regarding coronavirus in BiH is the most difficult since the beginning of the pandemic, as evidenced by the data on the numbers of newly infected and the deceased. Most of the media have been doing their job tirelessly and professionally for a year, exposing themselves to the constant risk of infection to convey objective, accurate and useful information in the interest of the citizens. Unfortunately, recently some media outlets have been publishing news and stories that can further upset their fellow citizens, especially those who have COVID-19 or whose family members are currently in hospitals.

Under the label “exclusive”, some media published videos from the COVID ward of Sarajevo’s hospitals treating the most difficult patients, and even took statements from patients and published the names of the deceased before their family members received notification of the death. In addition, unverified and inaccurate information about alleged lack of oxygen in hospitals, (non) procurement of vaccines or inaccurate and sensationalist information about the side effects of vaccines are often transmitted, which also brings confusion and fear among citizens.

The Steering Committee of BH Journalists considers that this way of media reporting is extremely irresponsible and contrary to the code of the journalistic profession. As a reminder, ethical standards for electronic and print media require journalists to “maintain high ethical standards towards the public at any time and under any circumstances.” Also, key principles of journalistic ethics dictate that media workers “avoid interfering in one’s private life”, that “topics involving personal tragedies must be treated with care” and that patients and all others affected by the pandemic should be approached “discreetly and with compassion”.

We call on all media professionals to take into account the above provisions of the Code and adapt their way of reporting to the crisis situation, respecting the fact that many of our fellow citizens are scared and worried, faced with the uncertainty of the further course of the pandemic. At the same time, we call on the directors and managers of health institutions in Sarajevo Canton and throughout BiH to respect the right to privacy of their patients, which is their legal, medical and moral obligation, and to respond to media inquiries and requests for recording within hospitals and health centers with maximum of protection of the identity of patients, as well as to not provide information to the media about their health condition without their consent and without prior assessment of the public interest in each case.

The Steering Committee of BH Journalists once again emphasizes that journalists and media in BiH have made an immeasurable contribution to informing the public on all relevant aspects related to the new coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic. We believe that our colleagues will continue to report on this topic on a daily basis guided by the principles of the profession and ethics, as most of them have done so far.

BELGRADE, 19.03.2021. – The media situation in Serbia continues to deteriorate, as illustrated by the recent withdrawal of six journalists’ and media associations from the Working group on safety and protection of journalists, set up by the government last December. Repeated attacks against KRIK journalists were the straw that broke the camel’s back

Six Serbian journalists’ and media associations – the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV), the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS), Media Association, Online Media Association (AOM), the Association of Local Independent Media “Lokal pres”, and the Slavko Curuvija Foundation – withdrew from the Working group on safety and protection of journalists established by the Serbian government in December 2020.

The reason that drove them to make such a decision lies in the deafening silence of other members of the Working group in the face of attacks against the investigative portal KRIK which deals with corruption and organised crime.

The future of the Working group on the safety of journalists seems uncertain at the moment, as after the withdrawal of six renowned associations the Working group has lost its credibility and, as a consequence, the effectiveness of its efforts in such an important field as the safety of journalists is called into question.

The Ministry of Culture and Information invited the associations that withdrew from the Working group to reconsider their decision “so as to continue working together to improve the safety and protection of journalists in order to create a better media environment. However, to date the Ministry’s plea was to no avail.

Pro-government media – mostly tabloids, but also some national television stations – explicitly accused KRIK of collaborating with a criminal organisation led by Veljko Belivuk, better known as Velja Nevolja, who is also the leader of the ultras group “Principi”.

Recently, Belivuk and a dozen members of his gang have been arrested as part of a large-scale police operation on suspicion of involvement in several murders and in drug trafficking and of planning the assassination of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

The criminalisation of KRIK – one of the most renowned investigative portals and winner of numerous awards in Serbia and abroad – started after the publication of a conversation between Belivuk and the parents of a missing boy, Strahinja Markovic, supposedly killed. As reported by Pink TV, close to the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), Belivuk told the boy’s father Nenad Markovic to contact KRIK.

Soon afterwards, President Vucic called on Serbian public opinion “not to attack neither KRIK nor anyone else”, but his request appeared hypocritical and cynical, all the more so because some SNS officials, during their public appearances, continued accusing KRIK of being tied to the criminal group led by Belivuk and pro-government media continued publishing articles with titles such as “KRIK became spokesperson for Belivuk”, “A secret deal between KRIK and Belivuk”.

KRIK and Serbian journalists’ associations are concerned by the fact that such titles not only aim at professionally discrediting KRIK journalists, but also put their safety at risk.

In Serbia, for some time now, there has been a feud going on between two criminal groups, the Skaljari clan and the Kavac clan. Dozens of people have been killed in this gang war. The attempt to tie KRIK journalists to one of the clans involved in a feud makes them a potential target for the other clan.

Stevan Dojcinovic, editor-in-chief of KRIK, said that KRIK had never before faced such brutal attacks, adding that KRIK has been writing about Belivuk’s gang and its ties with the Serbian leadership since 2016 and “now all of a sudden they are trying to show that we collaborate with criminals”.

“It seems quite incredible to me and I obviously don’t feel safe, and the same goes for the entire KRIK editorial staff”, stated Dojcinovic.

Ivana Stevanovic, director of the Slavko Curuvija Foundation, said that they withdrew from the Working group on safety of journalists because of “the wall of silence” on attacks against KRIK journalists. According to Stevanovic, the Serbian government embraced the tabloid narrative and keeps targeting KRIK journalists. Stevanovic warns that we are witnessing one of the most serious attacks on Serbian journalists in the last ten years.

Tamara Filipovic, secretary general of NUNS, said that her association decided to withdraw from the Working group because there has not been any palpable progress related to the safety of journalists.

“We haven’t noticed any improvement. In fact, verbal attacks and insults against journalists, mostly coming from politicians, continued after we joined the group, which also includes several representatives of the state”, explained Filipovic.

Regardless of how the whole story ends, the decision of journalists’ associations to withdraw from the working group brought up once again the question of the safety of journalists, this time from a new perspective. If before there were some doubts, now the majority of Serbian independent journalists and media seems to believe that no decisive progress in improving journalists’ safety can be made without a substantial change in the government’s attitude towards independent media.

According to data from NUNS, in Serbia since the beginning of the year there have been 21 cases of attacks and pressure against journalists. It should be noted that, besides the Working group on safety and protection of journalists, in Serbia there is also a commission entrusted with the task of shedding light on several murders of journalists, the Permanent working group on protection of journalists and, on the initiative of the Serbian Ombudsman, an agreement has been reached for the creation of “a platform for registration of cases of security threats and pressure against journalists and other media professionals”.

Despite the Serbian leadership’s attempts to show its willingness to tackle the question of journalists’ safety by creating various commissions and working groups, the current conditions of journalists in Serbia – especially of those who have a critical approach towards the government – are worse than at any moment in the past decades, as illustrated by the case of journalist Milan Jovanovic, whose house was set on fire in 2018.

What is truly concerning is the general atmosphere, characterised by constant attacks on independent media coming from tabloids, but also from members of the Serbian parliament, especially from the ruling coalition, which accuses journalists of being “foreign mercenaries” and treats some independent media as political opponents.

In such circumstances, in which it seems obvious that the regime is creating an atmosphere in which journalists feel less and less safe, it is not realistic to expect that journalists will be protected (only) by creating various working groups.

Serbian journalists and media are more and more aware of the fact that a key to safety of information professionals lies in a substantial change of the ruling leadership’s attitude towards independent media. It is necessary to engage in dialogue with the government, but recent attacks against KRIK and the decision of journalists’ and media associations to withdraw from the Working group on safety of journalists show that the government is not ready to change the dominant narrative in order to protect journalists, limiting itself to creating commissions.

In fact, the attitude of the ruling elite towards critical media is a far more serious problem than (non) participation of journalists’ and media associations in the work of various groups and bodies set up by the government.

PRISTINA, 17.03.2021 – The Association of Journalists of Kosovo – AJK in cooperation with the National Democratic Institute – NDI, professors and media leaders, discussed the NDI findings on the coverage of the election campaign by the local medias.

According to the findings published by the NDI, online medias contributed to the divisive language by publishing and in some cases misinterpreting the statements of analysts and politicians, as well as directly attacking political parties and individuals. The use of this harsh language, including physical threats, contributed to political divisions.

The report also noted that social networks spread and created manipulated photos and videos. Content, photos and videos manipulated or fabricated were created and distributed in order to distort political figures or allude to corrupt affairs related to the candidates’ certification process.

Another finding by the NDI, was the phenomenon of misogyny. Online media and social networks published and disseminated inappropriate content for women candidates during this period.

The opening of the discussion “Redefining the role of journalists in political communication” was made by Ambassador Nancy Soderberg – Senior Resident Director of NDI in Kosovo. Ambassador Soderberg talked about the importance of information’s integrity.

“Kosovo’s democracy is based on the integrity of information, as a crucial fact that enables citizens to have adequate knowledge of politics and public affairs and to be held accountable by the government, based on accurate information.”

The President of the Board of AJK, Gentiana Begolli Pustina, assessed that given the current state of journalism in Kosovo, especially online media, the engagement of media leaders, civil society and the international community is seen as a necessity in order to further the professionalization of journalists,  to regain trust in the media.

More than 20 journalists of central and local medias, discussed with the panel consisting of Kreshnik Gashi, Editor-in-Chief at kallxo.com and author of the show “Justice in Kosovo”, Muhamet Hajrullahu, Editor-in-Chief at Telegrafi.com, Tatjana Lazarevic, Editor-in-Chief at Kossev and Abit Hoxha, Researcher at Adger University in Norway.

SARAJEVO, 16.03.2021 – The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH has formed a case and opened an investigation against Jasmin Mulahusić, with the address of residence in Luxembourg, for the criminal offense of inciting national, religious or racial hatred and intolerance through various publications on the Internet, public space and social networks.

– According to the order of the prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, the competent police agencies performed certain checks and collected information, and in the capacity of witnesses and injured parties a certain number of persons were questioned – it was confirmed to the media from this institution.

One of those who testified in the Prosecutor’s Office in connection with the mentioned investigation is the well-known BH journalist and owner of Face television Senad Hadžifejzović, which he confirmed yesterday in a statement for “Dnevni Avaz”.

– I look at this the way he looks at Face TV, so he watches our TV, and he hates and threatens?! I don’t have Facebook, I never read comments, I work, let them criticize. But I find out about these persons who are a threat and danger to journalists, I also find out who they are even when they are anonymous – says Hadžifejzović.

He added that the Prosecutor’s Office must act efficiently.

– Although I am very surprised that someone accepted the job in this case where, I believe, individuals and intelligence services have a very strong connection, this is not the only such case and example – added Hadžifejzović.

BELGRADE, 15.03.2021. – On the occasion of the open call for physical violence by the Member of the National Assembly, Aleksandar Martinović, civil society organizations gathered in National Convention on the European Union working groups for Chapters 23 and 24 and cross-sectoral groups for political criteria and freedom of expression and the media demand a reaction from the President of the National Assembly from the position of Chairman of the Committee on Administrative, Budgetary, Mandate and Immunity Issues.

At a regular session, on March 11, 2021, Aleksandar Martinović threatened that anyone who criticized the government would be “beaten in the jack”, thus openly calling for violence. We express our support and solidarity with CRTA and other organizations and individuals who have been accused by MP Martinović of participating in the “coup d’etat”. We ask the members of the Committee for Administrative-Budgetary and Mandate-Immunity Issues to urgently remove the chairman of the Committee from this position; the President of the Assembly, Ivica Dacic, to sanction the drastic violation of the Code of Conduct, and the MP Martinovic to publicly apologize to CRTA.

The National Assembly forum must not be abused for the purpose of inappropriate reckoning with dissidents who are not in a position to answer to accusations. With the threats presented, MP Martinović once again showed that he is not worthy to perform the function of the Chairman of the Assembly Committee which should decide on cases of violation of the Code of Conduct for MPs. Martinovic, as well as his colleagues from the same parliamentary group, show how they have no intention to improve the work of the legislative body.

The criminalization of civil society, the media and political opponents has not stopped, despite the warnings from relevant domestic and international institutions and organizations. Verbal attacks by representatives of the executive and legislative branches of power mark the civil society organizations as “enemies of the state” and thereby question their professional integrity and reputation, and directly endanger activists and employees. This is repeated on a daily basis. Any indication of connection between the state and organized crime or a flagrant violation of the law provokes more and more brutal reactions of the holders of the highest state functions, instead of initiating positive changes and improving the environment in which we live. This kind of behavior distances Serbia and its citizens from meeting the basic criteria for EU membership, which remains declarative strategic goal of the Government.

Due to the aforementioned, the latest call for open violence against non-governmental organizations requires an urgent sanction and the removal of Aleksandar Martinović from the head of the parliamentary committee. Civil society organizations gathered in the working groups of the National Convention on the EU will continue to closely monitor the work of institutions and individuals and point out all illegalities and irregularities in their work. We are not giving up the fight for the rule of law in which freedom of expression is respected and all violence is sanctioned, even verbally, especially when it comes from the National Assembly, an institution that should reflect the sovereignty of the democratic will of the citizens of Serbia.

Working Group for Chapter 23

Working Group for Chapter 24

Cross-sectoral group on political criteria

Cross-sectoral group on freedom of expression and media

PODGORICA, 15.03.2021. – The Main Board of Trade Union of Media of Montenegro emphasized the dangers to which journalists are exposed in cases when they report on events that carry a special security risk.

“The last case happened in front of the eyes of the entire Montenegrin public.”Vijesti” journalist Jelena Jovanovic was injured while following the events in front of the premises of the coalition “For the Future of Niksic”.

Although the intent of the fierce supporter was to hit the policeman in charge of maintaining public order with a windshield wiper, journalist Jovanovic was hit in the head, above the eye. There were no serious injuries by sheer chance. Such situations should worry everyone, both government holders and citizens. The elections in Niksic certainly had a specific weight, but human life and health should be a priority for every sane person.

Unfortunately, this once again shows that journalists and media workers are often the “collateral damage” of political tensions and settlements in Montenegro. We believe that this should stop immediately, and we certainly call on all colleagues to be extremely careful when reporting from all political gatherings, because it is obvious that they can very easily, for no reason, be victims of irresponsible behavior.

We expect a reaction from the competent institutions. “