The Association BH Journalists called on the District Public Prosecutor's Office in Banja Luka to "urgently, ex officio and respecting the provisions of the Criminal Code of the Republika Srpska, as well as the recommendation of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, investigate the verbal violence and security threats from the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik to the journalists of N1, Capital, Buka and BN Television".

At the press conference on Saturday in Banja Luka, Milorad Dodik lashed out at these four media in an insulting, slanderous, brutal and inciting manner, declaring them “enemies of the Serb people”, “destroyers of the Republika Srpska” and presenting incorrect information about the way of financing and the work of the mentioned media, BH Journalists said.

Dodik was especially aggressive towards N1 journalist Mladen Vujinovic, whom he insulted on a professional and human basis, just because he asked Dodik a question about his fickle politics and disobeying the decisions of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.

The Board of BH Journalists assesses that the attack on journalists and the media is “the culmination of Dodik's militant, multi-year restriction of media freedoms and violation of the right to freedom of expression in that entity.”

“In his uncontrolled anger and confused speech, Dodik hinted that he would not spare even the worst measures, just to silence a few independent journalists and prevent them from writing about his actions and political decisions, which destabilise the Republika Srpska more than any journalistic text,” the association said.

It pointed out the decade-long impunity of Milorad Dodik's verbal escapades, accompanied by threats, insults, misogyny and security risks for journalists and the survival of the media in Republika Srpska.

“All those actions passed without any reaction from the police and judicial institutions of the Republika Srpska, or other competent authorities and institutions responsible for the protection of media freedom and the safety of every citizen of this entity. If this, the latest attack and the open threat of violence against the media go through with the institutional silence of the police and the prosecution, as well as the Information Committee of the RS National Assembly, it will be a clear indication of the legal and professional failure of the institutions of the Republika Srpska responsible for the rule of law and the protection of basic human freedoms and rights”, the association said.


The Board of BH Journalists gives full support to the journalists of N1, Buka, Capital and BN TV, stressing that, due to the seriousness of Dodik's threats and security risks for targeted journalists and the media, it will consider other means of legal and institutional protection for their colleagues in the media in Republika Srpska.

It also called on international organizations for the protection of media freedom and freedom of expression to make use of international legal mechanisms for sanctioning violence against journalists in Banja Luka and help prevent new security risks for independent media in Republika Srpska.