The Bosnian and Herzegovinian (BiH) Journalists Association expressed deep concern over the fact that representatives of the ruling parties of the Coalition of the Three and HDZ in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH (FBiH) did not support the Declaration condemning the ban on journalist Avdo Avdic’s entry into the Republic of Croatia, even though this is a case that directly affects freedom of expression, freedom of movement, and the safety of journalists.
They believe that such an outcome of the parliamentary debate represents a failure of the institution to respond in a principled manner and without political calculations to an obvious violation of international human rights standards, as well as a failure to publicly send a clear message about the protection of journalists and citizens of BiH.
The Association points out that, as the highest legislative and representative body, the Federal Parliament does not have the luxury of political neutrality or “restraint” when it comes to protecting the rights of any person in the FBiH, including journalist Avdic, whose rights were brutally violated by the Croatian state.
They remind that journalist Avdo Avdic was banned from entering Croatia on November 12th 2025, without any officially explained reason.
To this day, Croatian authorities and competent institutions have not responded to requests for clarification of this decision, even though they were officially contacted by the institutions of BiH, as well as by the regional SafeJournalists network and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Association announced.
