23 journalists and journalism students took part in the second training session on “Antigypsyism in Kosovo and Responsible and ethical reporting for the cases of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities”.

The participants, under the mentorship of journalist Lendrit Qeli, learned about the historical and social context of the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities in Kosovo. They also discussed topics such as anti-Gypsyism, social media, racism, and the impact of language, and worked in groups to analyze reporting examples from the media to practice applying their new knowledge gained in training.

Journalists and journalism students from both private and public universities were certified for their participation in the training by Terre des hommes – Kosovo and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo.

This training was organized as part of the project “Social Justice for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians”, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), implemented by the partner organizations Terre des hommes, Voice of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians and HEKS/EPER.

The Coalition for Media Freedom expresses solidarity with the media and civil sector in the Republika Srpska and calls on the Government of the RS to withdraw the Proposal for the Law on a Special Register and Publicity of the Work of Non-Profit Organizations, which will be presented to the members of the National Assembly of the RS on May 22.

The essence of this Law is to restrict the space for any action to associations and media that are registered as citizens’ associations (and which are also financed by international organizations).

The adoption of the proposed regulation would threaten the human rights of all citizens, further violate freedom of expression in the region, and potentially put employees in the media and non-governmental organizations in physical danger – due to the stigmatization of individual organizations as “agents of foreign influence”.

The proposal, which has already been condemned by the general public, the non-profit sector and the international community, is particularly worrying because it leaves the institutions of Republika Srpska with the possibility to arbitrarily determine what constitutes “political activity”, which directly threatens the freedom of expression, guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the Constitutions of BiH and RS.

The discretionary rights of the Ministry of Justice of the RS (which, with the adoption of the law, would officially begin to “monitor” the work of media and non-governmental organizations) would in fact enable censorship of all those who objectively and timely report on the work of the institutions there.

All the countries of the Western Balkans (except North Macedonia) have fallen behind on Reporters Without Borders’ World Media Freedom Index. Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded the biggest drop in the region, by as many as 17 places compared to last year.

The Coalition for Media Freedom believes that the implementation of the new undemocratic law would not only worsen this result, but would also call into question the survival of the entire media and non-profit sector in BiH, which is why we appeal to the Ministry of Justice of the Republika Srpska and the representatives in the National Assembly of the RS to prevent its adoption.

The Coalition for Media Freedom: the Association of Media, the Association of Online Media (AOM), the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), the Business Association of Local and Independent Media “Local Press”, the Slavko Curuvija Foundation and Branch Trade Union of Culture, Arts and Media ‘Nezavisnost’ 

Sarajevo, May 8, 2024 – Steering Committee of  BH Journalists Association (BHJA) considers the decision by the BHRT Management Board to deny the technical services for the RTV Federation of BiH (RTVFBiH) is unprofessional and socially harmful, thereby making it impossible to broadcast all-day programme except of the news broadcasts on this public media channel.

BHRT’s decision to black out the screen and silence of radio program at the RTVFBiH from 6 o’clock this morning is based on the facts about the unlawful retention of the subscription at the  on the Federation public broadcaster account, which should have been transferred to BHRT. This public service also blames RTVFBiH for non-payment for previous services, which had a negative impact on the delay in salaries for employees of the state broadcaster and its work in general. However, for the BHJA Steering Committee, it is completely incomprehensible that two public broadcasters, with headquarters in Sarajevo and in one building, solve important issues of public broadcasting and financial survival with blackmail and drastic measures such as cancelling programs or denying public money!? The unlawful and unreasonable decisions by  both managements represent a direct violation of the citizen´s rights on the freedom of information and access to public information, including  a violation of the employees‘ rights  on to free, paid and dignified work.

The BHJA Steering Committee reminds that the financial crisis in all three public services is neither new nor short-term – it is caused by the multi-year, indirect, but also public and brutal influence of political parties on the bearers of public information in BiH. The parties in power for more than a decade supported the carelessness of the founders – the parliaments as well as the government on State and entities level, which was not only reflected in the violation of the provisions on the subscription distribution, but also in the lack of care after the RTRS was placed under political control or the reaction to the RTVFBiH operation without general director and management in their legal mandate. Also, competent government institutions, including the BiH Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Communications Regulatory Agency, have for years and tacitly approved the decision by RTRS to violate the rules for the subscription distribution under existing law, which was the first step in the financial decline of public services in BiH.

First of all, the BHJA Steering Committee requests the immediate cancellation of the BHRT decision and the return of services for the availability of RTVFBiH programs throughout the country.

At the same time, BHJA calls the employees of the two public broadcasters to demand responsibility, including the dismissal of the management that cannot or does not know how to find a solution for financial survival, program independence and protection of the public media  system. In the chaos of political influences, irresponsible behaviour by the PBS management and administration, as well as the status quo supported by the founders and parties in power, only journalists and all other workers of BHRT and RTVFBiH, as well as in RTRS, can be the driving force in seeking permanent solutions for  survival of the PBS as a system in BiH, including three individual public services. In this, they will have  unconditional support by the BHJA and international organizations for the protection of freedom of expression and citizens’ right to public information.

Steering Committe of BH Journalist Association

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo is extremely concerned about Kiks Kosova’s reporting on the leak of journalist Ardiana Thaçi Mehmeti’s phone number within the Albkings group.

In the latest episode of Kiks Kosova, which is dedicated exclusively to the continuous harassment of journalist Thaçi Mehmeti by dozens of men who are part of this group, it is reported that her number was leaked as a sign of revenge for her previous reports about the Albkings.

The journalist has received numerous calls and messages from members of that group, not only on her phone number but also on her accounts on social networks.

Leaking the phone number of journalist Thaçi Mehmeti as a form of revenge by Albkings not only endangers her safety but also serves as an attempt to intimidate and silence her.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo condemns the leak of her phone number, as well as the derogatory messages and phone calls that journalist Thaçi Mehmeti has received in recent days, to damage her reputation.

AJK calls on the Kosovo Police and the Prosecutor’s Office to urgently take the necessary steps regarding the case reported by colleague Thaçi Mehmeti so that the person(s) who leaked the number and those who contacted her, are held accountable.

The undersigned partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) demand the immediate release of Andrey Gniot, a Belarusian journalist and pro-democracy activist who is being held in custody by Serbian authorities on politically-motivated charges formulated by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. Serbian courts have been deliberating upon a request to deport Gniot to Belarus since October 2023.

According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an independent trade union in exile, authorities arrested Gniot immediately upon his arrival to Serbia on 30 October 2023. His detention was based on an international arrest warrant issued by Interpol upon request by authorities in Belarus on alleged tax evasion charges. After a first appeal, the High Court of Belgrade is currently deliberating on whether the conditions for Gniot’s extradition to Belarus have been met.

The journalist first left his home country in 2021 after receiving ‘signals’ that authorities were aware of his activism, which he had not made public out of fear of reprisal, according to reports by independent Belarusian media. After first moving to Thailand, the journalist flew for work to Serbia, a country that remains a major hub for exiled Belarusians and Russians, as it is one of the few countries in Europe that they can enter without a visa. He was unaware that an international arrest warrant had been issued against him.

Activism and journalistic activity in Belarus

Gniot is mainly known for his activities as a director of music and TV commercials, as well as a journalist and political activist. He is one of the founders of SOS BY, an independent union of Belarusian sportspeople, which reportedly played a part in the canceling of the 2021 Hockey World Cup in Belarus. The decision was made months before the event and was motivated in part by ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated by authorities in the wake of the 2020-2021 mass protest movement against Lukashenko. SOS BY was later designated as an ‘extremist formation’ by the Belarusian state security services, which made it possible to sentence its members to lengthy prison terms.

Gniot is also known to have worked as a freelancer for Current Time TV, an independent Russian-language TV channel based in Prague, which is part of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty media corporation. Current Time TV is also labelled as extremist in Belarus, with the channel’s website and social media accounts designated as ‘extremist material’ since January 2024. The media company supported Gniot by addressing a letter to Serbian authorities, in which the channel claimed that their journalist was being persecuted by Belarusian authorities for having worked with them.

While Gniot has been formally accused of tax evasion, he claims that he was never notified of these charges throughout the years during which he would have violated Belarusian tax laws. Tax evasion, as well as other charges, were also earlier used to incriminate Maryna Zolatava and Lyudmila Chekina, respectively the editor-in-chief and director general of Tut.by. The website used to be Belarus’ most popular independent online outlet before authorities forced its closure in 2021.

In addition, Gniot’s lawyers reported that authorities in Minsk based their accusations on a law adopted in 2019, while the charges are related to Gniot’s activities between 2012 and 2018.

Risk of political persecution in Belarus

Belarus remains Europe’s biggest jailer of journalists, with 36 media workers currently behind bars according to BAJ. The country of nine million also has the highest rate of imprisoned journalists per capita in the world.

Independent media are in practice fully banned at the national level, and independent journalists have been forced to go into exile, as staying in Belarus exposed them to inevitable repression as retaliation for both current and past activities.

Since 2020, authorities have labelled thousands of media outlets, website pages, social media accounts and other online content as various forms of ‘extremism’: as a result, journalists and readers alike face fines and prison terms for any interactions, current or past, with independent outlets designated as such. Security forces are known  to regularly detain Belarusian journalists and people who access independent media for past activities, with the first group receiving prison or other sentences restricting their liberty, and the second beinng typically forced to record videos ‘confessing’ to their ‘extremism’ before serving short-term prison terms (typically up to 15 days).

Given the wide scale politically-motivated repression in Belarus, we urge the High Court of Belgrade, which is currently handling Gniot’s case, to pronounce a decision in favour of his immediate release, as well as for relevant authorities in Serbia to not appeal such a decision.

Serbian authorities should take into account the unimaginable scale of repression of independent media in Belarus, and the fact that Belarusian authorities have weaponised tax evasion charges to take revenge on a journalist for his past successful activism against human rights abuses. Gniot’s deportation to Belarus would expose him to arbitrary detention and imprisonment, as well as inhumane treatment and torture while in custody.

Andrey Gniot must be freed and allowed to continue his professional activities in the country of his choice.

Signed:

International Press Institute (IPI)

ARTICLE 19 Europe

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)

Source: Article19