The prosecutors and police officers from across Bosnia and Herzegovina were designated points of contacts for the safety of journalists, as a mechanism to improve the systematic protection of journalists.

In the training session organised in Sarajevo on 28 and 29 February, they have been strengthening their capacities based on the European standards of protection, as well as on domestic legal framework in this regard. The goal of the training is to enable the consistent application of the European standards in the local context. The joint training of prosecutors and police officers, which is is a part of collaboration and synergy between the Council of Europe, EU, and OSCE, aims to address already identified gaps in the practice of investigation of cases of violence and threats against journalists. Improving their skills and collaboration in the process of investigations and processing the reported cases will lead to more efficient protection of journalists in accordance with the European standards.

The group of Council of Europe trainers consists of a prosecutor, a lawyer, a police investigator, and a journalist, thus covering a wide range of perspectives, to ensure the most efficient model of protection of journalists.

The action “Protecting freedom of expression and of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (PROFREX)”, implemented by the Division for Co-operation on Freedom of Expression of the Council of Europe, is part of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.