The Basic Court in Banja Luka, with a first-instance verdict, confirmed the discrimination by the mayor of Sipovo, Milan Kovac, against journalists Alena Besirevic and Harun Dinarevic. This is the first verdict of this type in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Journalists Besirevic and Dinarevic filed a lawsuit against Kovac after he insulted them over the phone regarding the investigative article “Forests of Republika Srpska (RS) in the Service of Dodik’s Financial and Political Prosperity”, published on the Naratorium portal.
Kovac called Dinarevic, the chief editor of the portal, and asked, “What are you writing about me?” and then insulted him. Similar insults were directed at journalist Besirevic. The conversation also included inappropriate statements in which the mayor invited the journalists to come to his office and sexually gratify him.
Such behavior was deemed unacceptable, and the court ruling states that Kovac “sought to humiliate and insult the plaintiffs as journalists, as human beings, violating their dignity through obscene, lascivious, degrading, humiliating, and offensive speech entirely inappropriate for a person who is a politician, currently serving as the mayor of the Municipality of Sipovo.”
For the discrimination of journalists, he received a monetary fine: 1.500 BAM as compensation to Dinarevic and 1.000 BAM compensation to Besirevic.
Journalist Besirevic said that this is not her victory, nor Naratorium’s victory, but a victory for the entire journalistic community in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
“The verdict actually comes as a result of the collaboration of excellent people and professionals. It was achieved with the support of the BiH Journalists Association and the outstanding lawyers Biljana Radulovic, who started the process, and Jovana Kisin Zagajac, who brought it to completion. The verdict confirms that dignity can overcome abuse of power. However, at a time when we witness the struggle for the survival of the public radio and television service of BiH, it is difficult to speak of journalistic victories,” emphasized Besirevic.
Dinarevic emphasized that this verdict opens the door to a healthier relationship between politicians and journalists, in which politicians would feel responsible for their words.
“This verdict can be interpreted as a precedent that will pave the way for other journalists who experience discrimination by people in positions of power. I hope it will at least slightly influence the vocabulary and tone of politicians when addressing others whose views they do not agree with,” said Dinarevic.
Lawyer Kisin Zagajac said that this case, compared to others protecting journalists, differs in that it involves discrimination, not just defamation, and the violation of the right to freedom of expression.
The verdict also shows that the court was stern toward Kovac, which was somewhat unexpected for the journalistic community, given the judiciary’s usually passive approach toward media workers. The court emphasized that “such behavior cannot simply be called an opinion or value judgment, but rather a crude expression inappropriate for the defendant as a person holding certain political functions and roles in our society.”
Furthermore, the reasoning of the verdict states: “From the defendant’s speech, the court concludes that the content of his speech cannot be justified by anything, not even by the outrage he claims to have felt after reading the plaintiffs’ texts. Accordingly, the court finds that his speech contains all elements of harassment, which is a form of discrimination, as he violated the dignity of the plaintiffs through numerous vulgarities, attempting to intimidate, degrade, humiliate, and offend them.”
The defendant has the right to appeal, as this is a first-instance verdict, Klix.ba writes.
