Aleksandra Vrbica, Author at BIRN

BIRN BiH Journalist and Editor Win EU Investigative Journalism Award

BIRN BiH Journalist Lamija Grebo and Dzana Brkanic, BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina deputy editor, have won second prize of the European Union Investigative Journalism Awards for an investigation based on court verdicts over the past ten years for hate crimes.

The jury consisting of media expert Lamija Aleckovic, Political Sciences Faculty professor Lejla Turcilo and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation director Tanja Topic from Banja Luka awarded Grebo and Brkanic for their multimedia data research, which showed that hate crimes were mostly sanctioned with suspended sentences, with only one quarter of those convicted being imprisoned, and investigations in some cases taking more than 20 years.

Awarding the prize, Turcilo said the story threw light on the absurdity of the court system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, pointing to the need for changes in Bosnian society.

“Suspended Sentences Do not Prevent the Spread of Hate” was based on verdicts passed down before all courts in Bosnia over a ten-year period. It revealed also that there was no unified system for registering such crimes, which has made the monitoring and investigating of those cases more difficult.

The two journalists thanked members of BIRN BiH newsroom for their help, adding that they appreciated the European Union Award and the jury which recognized their work.

“Many hours of browsing through hundreds of court and prosecutorial decisions, numerous queries, interviews with experts, but also with our fellow citizens who have still not seen justice after 20 years, stand behind this investigation. At a time when hate crimes are happening nearly on a daily basis, it is even more important to point to this problem with a view to improving the prosecution, ensuring justice for victims and achieving a potential general prevention [of such crimes],” Grebo said.

Brkanic said the value of the award was reflected in the additional visibility of investigative stories, which bring changes in society, adding that she hoped this story also would have a positive impact in favour of victims.

“Returnees live in fear throughout BiH, minorities are endangered, and no one has information about the attack on LGBTIQ activists and fellow journalists in March this year. Hence, this award, alongside the support which independent newsrooms such as ours get from foreign donors, represents an incentive and obligation to continue with our work,” she said.

Brkanic and Grebo shared second place with Predrag Blagovcanin, who was awarded for his story titled “Between the HDZ and DF: How the Defence Ministry of BiH Protected a War Criminal”.

First prize was awarded to Semira Degirmendzic for a story titled “Turkish Cengiz Wins Contracts Worth a Billion KM, but Fails to Pay Compensation to Bosnian Workers”. Third prize went to Arduana Pribinja for a story titled “Abuse of Patients in Sarajevo: False Diagnoses for Expensive Medicines”.

Johann Sattler, Head of the Delegation and Special Representative of EU in Bosnia, said during the awards ceremony that Bosnian citizens had the right to be informed about irregularities in society.

“Professional journalism is essential for the health of the society, while freedom of the media and expression is one of the key priorities for the entry of BiH into the European Union,” said Sattler, adding that without achieving this priority, Bosnia could not join the EU.

In 2021, BIRN BiH deputy editor Brkanic won the third prize of the European Union Investigative Journalism Awards for a piece on the non-transparent collection of humanitarian aid for construction of wells and mosques in Africa.

The EU Investigative Journalism Award celebrates the best investigative stories written in the previous calendar year and is awarded in all six Western Balkan countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia) and Turkey. The organiser of the award ceremony, Thomson Media, an organisation with multi-year experience in developing and promoting media freedom, awarded a regional prize for the first time this year.

Grebo and Brkanic previously won a special European Press Prize in 2020, as members of BIRN BiH, for “efforts and success in ensuring justice for victims of war crimes”.

Jointly with their colleague Jasmin Begic, they were shortlisted for the Srdjan Aleksic Journalism Award in 2022 in the “contribution to the community” category.

Aleksandra Vrbica

Based in Belgrade, Aleksandra joined BIRN in October 2023 as a Communications Manager. Her main responsibilities include developing and implementing communications strategies and work plans, designing promotional campaigns, and working closely with the programme departments, social media team and editorial team to ensure its content reaches target audiences.

Previously, Aleksandra worked as a journalist and a Social Media manager and has extensive experience in journalism, communications and Social Media.

For three years, she worked at the EU Info Centre in Belgrade as a Social Media Officer and was responsible for the EU Delegation’s SM accounts, amongst other things. During this period, she also gained valuable experience in project communications.

She has been awarded by the Serbian Public Relations Society and the 2020 EU Delegation to Serbia for the campaign “They Are Heroes”.

Aleksandra studied at the Faculty of Political Sciences, at the University of Belgrade. Her major was Journalism and Communications. Also, she has an MA degree in Social Policies. In addition to her formal education, she has attended various Social Media courses and seminars.

Along with her native Serbian, she speaks English.

EU Awards for Best Investigative Journalism in Serbia Announced

On September 28, in the EU info centre in Belgrade, the winners of the EU Awards for Investigative Awards for Investigative Journalism in Serbia were announced.

KRIK, CINS and a BIRN team of Jelena Zorić and Vuk Cvijić were selected from many colleagues as this year’s winners for their stories published in 2022.

The jury consisted of Tamara Skrozza a journalist who has worked for radio, press and TV productions and engaged with a number of different media outlets; Snjezana Milivojevic, a professor of public opinion and media studies who chaired doctoral and master’s programs at Bayan College in Oman and the University of Belgrade; and Sasa Lekovic, President of the Investigative Journalism Centre, based in Croatia, a reporter and editor and a licensed investigative reporting trainer and lecturer.

The first prize went to the KRIK team (Stevan Dojčinović, Bojana Jovanović, Milica Vojinović and Ana Adžić) for their stories on the Darko Šarić clan.

The second prize was shared between CINS and BIRN. The CINS team (Stefan Marković, Teodora Ćurčić, Jovana Tomić, Ivana Milosavljević and Vladimir Kostić) was awarded for their stories on political party financing.

Jelena Zorić from BIRN was awarded for her stories about medical malpractice in the sensitive area of psychiatric health.

The third prize went to Vuk Cvijić of NIN for his investigations into the connections between criminal circles and state officials, and CINS/BIRN (Dina Đorđević, Marija Ristić, Jovana Tomić and Saša Dragojlo) for “Paths of Serbian weapons”. Part of this series is the investigation “Serbian Rockets Sent to Myanmar Even After 2021 Coup”, a cross-border collaboration between BIRN, CINS, Myanmar Witness and Lighthouse Reports, originally commissioned at the BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting in Dubrovnik in 2021.

Manuel Munteanu, Head of Press and Info and Deputy Head of Political Section of the EU Delegation in Serbia, gave a speech highlighting the importance of independent media and extending congratulations to the winners.

Davor Marko from Thomson Media introduced the project and the importance of the EU awa for supporting investigative journalism in the Western Balkans and Türkiye. Snjezana Milivojevic, representing the jury, provided a detailed explanation of the award selection process and announced the recipients of each awarded position.

More information can be found here.

The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2023 is part of the project “Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II”. This aims to recognise and promote outstanding achievements in investigative journalism as well as improve the visibility of quality journalism in the Western Balkans and Türkiye.

The project is funded by the European Union and it is implemented by a consortium composed of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN Hub, Central European University (CEU) – Hungary, the Association of Journalists (AJ) – Türkiye, Thomson Media (TM) – Germany, University Goce Delcev Stip (UGD) – North Macedonia, The Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) – North Macedonia, Media Association of South-East Europe (MASE) – Montenegro, and Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Kosovo (BIRN Kosovo).

EU Awards for Best Investigative Journalism in Montenegro Announced

On September 25 in Europe House in Podgorica, the winners of the EU Awards for Investigative Awards for Investigative Journalism in Montenegro were announced.

Đurđa Radulović, Olivera Lakic, Dejan Milovac, Vladimir Otasevic, Jovo Martinovic, Marko Vešović and Andras Kiraly were selected from many colleagues as this year’s winners for their stories published in 2022 exposing offshore companies, healthcare and corruption in the justice system in Montenegro.

The jury consisted of Tena Perisin, Professor at the University of Zagreb with a working experience in CNN, who led projects like HRT news program digitisation and founded Student Television and the first Journalism Research Laboratory in the region; Nataša Ružić, an academic and a journalist who worked as a journalist at Radio Golos Rossii and as editor-in-chief of the youth paper Zerkalo; Boro Kontic, awarded journalist and Director of the Media Center in Sarajevo.

The first prize went to Đurđa Radulović from CIN-CG for her article “Silence Surrounding Violence – Maternity Wards Violate WHO Recommendations”.

The second prize went to Olivera Lakic of Libertas Press for her series of articles on corruption in the Montenegrin judicial system and on crime and corruption within Montenegrin police structures.

The third prize was divided between Dejan Milovac from NVO MANS for his investigation into the Pandora Papers, revealing Russian offshore millions invested in luxury real estate in Montenegro, and Vladimir Otasevic, Jovo Martinovic, Marko Vešović and Andras Kiraly (Istraživački portal LUPA, RTV Nikšić) for their story, “Secret E-gambling Affair”.

Oana Cristina Popa, Head of the EU Delegation to Montenegro, greeted the participants via a video message highlighting the importance of the awards and investigative journalism. The jury members presented their decisions and announced the awardees.

More information can be found here.