Journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina face growing risks, while the system for protecting them still has significant gaps, a new study finds. Entitled "Safety of Journalists and Media Professionals in Bosnia and Herzegovina", the study assesses the Bosnia and Herzegovina’s protection system against Council of Europe standards and highlights persistent challenges, including impunity for attacks, institutional pressure, SLAPP lawsuits, criminal defamation, and online and gender-based violence. It calls for stronger legal and institutional safeguards to ensure journalists can work safely and uphold citizens’ right to reliable information.

According to the study, the most significant challenges to the safety of journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina include:

• Systemic impunity: Attacks against journalists are often treated in practice as minor offences, while investigations are slow and rarely lead to sanctions.
• Institutional harassment: Cases have been documented in which journalists were detained or had their equipment confiscated for refusing to disclose confidential sources, placing direct pressure on investigative journalism.
• SLAPP lawsuits and criminal defamation: Powerful individuals use Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) to financially exhaust media outlets, while the criminalisation of defamation in Republika Srpska has contributed to increased self-censorship.
• Online and gender-based violence: Journalists, particularly women journalists, are exposed to severe online threats and misogynistic abuse that largely remain unpunished.

The study proposes a range of solutions centred on legislative reform, primarily through amendments to criminal legislation to recognise attacks against journalists as specific criminal offences, as well as the introduction of anti-SLAPP mechanisms enabling courts to dismiss abusive lawsuits at an early stage. It also recommends the adoption of a comprehensive national strategy for the protection of journalists, strengthening the network of institutional contact points within prosecutors' offices and police services, establishing specialised investigative units, and maintaining a transparent public register of all attacks to facilitate the identification of patterns and trends.

In addition, the study calls for the provision of systematic legal, financial and psychological support for victims, while urging media organisations to introduce internal safety protocols, conduct regular digital security training, and address specific risks such as online harassment and gender-based violence. Finally, it emphasises the importance of decriminalising defamation, safeguarding journalists' labour rights, and continuously promoting media freedom to create a safe and enabling environment for journalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The study was produced as part of the action “Protecting freedom of expression and of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (PRO-FREX)”, implemented under the European Union and Council of Europe’s joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye,” and the Council of Europe project “Strengthening information integrity in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, funded under the Council of Europe Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2026-2029. It can be downloaded here.