Tag: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Twenty Issues of Radio Justice Magazine

By the end of 2009 Radio Justice Report had produced and broadcast 20 weekly BIRN Radio Justice reports and more than 750 daily audio reports.

BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina started broadcasting its weekly radio magazine on August 14 this year, nearly a year after we started broadcasting our first audio reports.  

The support we received from the radio stations that broadcast our reports and from the readers who access Justice Report on our web page, www.bim.ba, has encouraged us to continue our radio production in 2010.  

At present the daily and weekly reports are broadcast by about 100 radio stations all over the country and abroad.  

Each week our Radio Justice magazine brings an overview of trials conducted before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber, and topics and analyses pertaining to the entire process. During 2009 Radio Justice interviewed Sonja Biserko, President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Natasa Kandic, Director of the Humanitarian Law Fund from Belgrade, Vesna Terselic, Director of Documenta organization from Zagreb, Mirsad Tokaca, President of the Research and Documentation Center from Sarajevo, Svetlana Broz, Director of GARIWO organization from Sarajevo, Hans Christian Schmid, Director of Oluja (“Storm”) a movie on war-crimes trials conducted at The Hague, and many others.   

We would like our Radio Justice reports to reach as many people interested in following the trials conducted before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and many other topics related to justice and war-crimes victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina as possible. In our efforts we receive great support from the media stations with which we cooperate.

“The public has to be aware of justice and war-crimes issues. BIRN is the only media that works in a systematic way. For as long as this topic is open, the weekly BIRN Radio Justice magazine will be a valuable media product. The magazine is substantial, well articulated and well designed,” says Emir Habul, Editor-in-Chief of BH Radio 1 news programmes.

Local media are key partners for the Radio Justice Report project. Mirsada Cosic, Konjic Radio News Programme Editor, says the written and audio reports made by Justice Report journalists, dedicated to following war-crimes trials, are of extreme importance for the general public in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Dragana Sivonjic, Editor-in-Chief of Vitez radio station, says that Radio Justice and our agency news enable the station to follow the trials, “which we would otherwise not be able to follow because of a limited number of reporters and the distance between Vitez and Sarajevo”.  

Staff at Tuzla Canton Radio, which covers the broad area of Podrinje, say that the reaction to Radio Justice reports from listeners has been positive.

The situation is similar in the Zivinice area, where our reports are carried by a local TV station. “We carry BIRN Justice Report articles in our news. We receive positive reactions from our TV station audience. We do not have a radio station, so we include the reports in our TV news. The topics covered by Justice Report are certainly of interest to our viewers,” says Nihad Kovacevic, Editor-in-Chief of Zivinice Public RTV Station:

 

We intend to continue broadcasting daily and weekly reports next year, and we will also expand our production to include audio inserts from trials in most of our written reports.  

We receive continued support from the Governments of the Kingdom of Norway, Great Britain and Switzerland, as well as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Soros Foundation, NED and USAID.

BIRN BiH Congratulated on New Project

The Association of Reporters from the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, AIS, held a meeting on December 23 at which the first TV Justice issue was premiered for AIS members.

Twelve monthly TV Justice programmes will be produced next year. They will be broadcast by local TV stations and on our web page. The first programme features a review of trials conducted before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina during 2009, an interview with a war-crimes convict and interviews with Court officials.

AIS members agreed on the importance of broadcasting this type of programme, with specialized reports on war-crimes trials.

“This programme really succesd; the review of trials has been done in a very good way,” said BH Radio 1 journalist Mirela Hukovic-Hodzic.

Lea Tajic of the Communications Regulatory Agency, RAK, described the end product as “an extremely good job”.

Other AIS members who attended the premiere agreed with these opinions.

 

Participants at the meeting included Muamer Selimbegovic, FENA, Denis Dzidic, BIRN BiH, Velma Saric, IWPR, Anisa Suceska Vekic, BIRN BiH, Nidzara Ahmetasevic, BIRN BiH, Dragana Erjavec, TV Justice, Aida Alic, BIRN BiH, Merima Husejnovic, BIRN BiH and Erna Mackic, BIRN BiH.

In other business, AIS members agreed to request a meeting with representatives of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Prosecution in order to discuss requests that have been made by this informal advocacy association but which have not yet been fulfilled by the Court.

It was said, once again, that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina should organize weekly, or at least monthly briefings for journalists, enable access to public documents, such as decisions and resolutions, by uploading them on the State Court’s web page, and publish CDs and photographs from hearings which are open to the
public.

Anisa Suceska Vekic informed participants about the education of journalists from local communities, which BIRN BiH plans to organize next year. She said that AIS members would play an active role in this.

AIS members will discuss future plans of the Association at their next meeting, scheduled for early next year.

 

Public Outreach Section Letter

The letter was sent after the AIS meeting in October. 

Dear Sirs,

 

The Association of Court Reporters, AIS, would like to express its dissatisfaction with the Decision contained in “The Regulations on accessing information controlled by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, adopted at the General Session. The AIS considers this Decision to be inappropriate for several reasons – the most important of which is that if it is implemented the Decision will deprive the general public of information about court proceedings. 

 

We would like to remind you that the AIS has for a considerable period of time been appealing to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to follow the practice of the Hague Tribunal and allow media to have access to more photographs from courtrooms. On several occasions public assurances have been given that the media will be provided with more photographs, showing unprotected witnesses, judges and prosecutors. However, these assurances have not yet been fulfilled; on the contrary, they are completely undermined by this Decision.  

 

Journalists reporting from war-crimes and organized-crime trials conducted before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina consider that the current practices pertaining to sharing photographs should be improved. The number of shared photographs should certainly not be reduced. The fact that we receive only indictees’ photos taken at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of trials deprives the public of information from the courtrooms, as these photographs offer only a very limited perspective. We still do not receive photographs of other participants in trials.

 

Significantly, the fact that photographs of indictees are the only photographs published in the media can in certain circumstances be used as an argument by Defence teams. Defence lawyers can claim that repeatedly publishing photos of the indictees develops prejudices against some people even before their guilt has been proved. We have already drawn attention to this problem and received support from judges.

 

We can easily provide you with examples of how the selective publishing of photographs, which is taking place now, undermines objective reporting. We continue to receive group photos of  all indictees at a trial, even though only one of them may have pleaded guilty, for example. In addition, we regularly receive photographs of indictees dressed in summer clothes, even though the reporting period is the the middle of winter. 

 

We are extremely concerned that the new Decision may mean that we will no longer receive video recordings from all hearings, but only recordings made at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of trials. This would directly and negatively affect our capacity to report the work of the Court in an efficient way. 

 

We respectfully request that you reconsider your Decision. It is manifestly in the interest of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina that its proceedings are transparent and open to the public, and this can only be ensured by providing appropriate access to the media. 

 

We are formally asking you to convey our disapproval of the Regulations to the Court authorities. We are convinced that this Decision will make it harder for you to garner public support for the Court and disseminate information about the important work being done by this institution. 

 

Judges of the Court have stressed again and again that “justice must be transparent”. This is a fundamental and indispensable pillar of an open society – and this Decision would lead to the very opposite situation, where transparency in the administration of justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina is actually reduced.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

The Association of Reporters from the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (consisting of representatives of print and electronic media).
 

Sarajevo, October 23, 2009

BIRN – Justice Report cited in Amnesty International Report

Several articles written by Justice Report journalists have been cited in the latest Amnesty International Report, “Whose Justice? Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Women Still Waiting“.

The Report is the product of year-long research conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It addresses the difficult position of women who were raped during the past war, and their dissatisfaction with the poor treatment they receive from Bosnian authorities.

Amnesty International, AI, quoted BIRN – Justice Report articles on rape trials conducted behind closed door before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its coverage of agreements signed between the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and war-crimes indictees.

AI is a global movement with more than two million members, which currently leads campaigns to end grave violations of human rights in more than fifteen countries.

BIRN – Justice Report is an agency specialized in reporting on trials conducted before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and covering issues related to transitional justice and facing the past in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

More about report: Amnesty International: Suffering in Silence

BIRN Regional Conference Begins

Regional Conference on “Transparency of Courts and Responsibility of the Media” begins in Sarajevo.

A Regional Conference on “Transparency of Courts and Responsibility of the Media” has started in Sarajevo. The Conference is being organized by the Balkans Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, – Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the three-day event, from September 1 to September 3, 2009, participants will explore ways of bridging the gap between judicial institutions, local authorities
and the media in the Western Balkans region.

“Our intention is to open a dialogue on the importance of responsible, timely and objective information sharing on war-crimes trials and the need for transparency of the judicial institutions before which these trials are conducted. Both things are important for regaining the trust of the public in the region for the judicial system and enabling people who have been victims of the gravest violations of human rights to start believing in justice,” Nidzara Ahmetasevic, BIRN – Justice Report Editor, said in her introductory speech.

On the first day of the Conference representatives of judicial institutions from the region discussed their experiences in long-standing work with the media, as well as their future plans for increasing transparency.

The first official from the judiciary to address the Conference was John Hocking of the Registrar’s Office with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, who reminded participants that the transparency of the ICTY’s work has been a significant part of its legacy, adding that the Tribunal has for years sought to explain its work to “the community which it serves”.

Meddzida Kreso, President of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that from the beginning of its work the Court has been aware of the role of the media and the influence it has on public opinion, adding that the Court therefore decided to “open its courtrooms” immediately. She stated that the media had made “good progress” in terms of war-crimes reporting.

“We must secure good work conditions for the media. We find it important for Bosnian citizens to know what is happening in the State Court’s courtrooms. Our citizens have the right to know the truth. We respect their right. Our trials are public and the media are welcome to be there,” Kreso said, also recommending that other courts in the country “start opening their courtrooms” to the public.

Chief State Prosecutor Milorad Barasin was among the speakers. He reminded Conference participants that it is very important for “the victims to see justice being implemented in practice”. Sinisa Vazic, President of the War Crimes Council of Serbia, stated that the interests of the public and the protection of the criminal proceedings had to be taken into consideration when reporting from courtrooms.
 
“The relation between the judiciary and the media is an issue that is often put aside. This particularly refers to the influence of the media. The media have multiple roles, starting from the positive role of protecting and communicating information, to a potentially negative role of abusing the judiciary for reasons of media interest or in the interest of powerful groups,” said Branko Hrvatin, President of the Supreme Court of Croatia.

On the second day of the Conference, September 2, editors from media outlets in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, representatives of non-governmental organizations and spokespersons of judicial institutions will discuss the responsibility and reliability of the media in court reporting and the importance of war-crimes reporting. Round table on media freedoms was held with Viktor Ivancic from Croatia, Petar Lukovic from Serbia, Vildana Selimbegovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ana Petruseva, BIRN regional editor from Macedonia.

Conference on Court Transparency and Media Responsibility

The BIRN Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina is organizing a Regional Conference on “Transparency of Courts and Media Responsibility”, in Sarajevo from September 1 to September 3, 2009. 

The conference will explore ways of bridging the gap between judicial institutions, local authorities and the media in the Western Balkans by sharing best practice. Conference participants will discuss judicial transparency and timely, objective and reliable reporting on crimes committed during the conflicts of the 1990s, as well as the institutions and mechanisms for dealing with these crimes. 

The Conference will utilize the expertise of international war-crimes experts, legal experts, and journalists who specialize in war-crimes reporting.

More than 60 people from the region, as well as representatives from the Hague Tribunal and international non-governmental organizations and media have already confirmed their participation in the conference. 

As part of the event a thematic evening on “Limits of Freedom of Speech” will be convened. Discussion will focus on the role of the media in war reporting and in reporting crimes. 

On the final day, September 3, a workshop will be organized for media representatives, on court reporting and respecting professional standards and the law on free access to information. 

Since 2004 BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina has been one of the key actors in bringing justice closer to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. For five years now its highly acclaimed Justice Report news agency has provided daily coverage of war-crimes trials and transitional justice issues.

BIRN is the only organization in Bosnia and Herzegovina which has provided a daily record of testimony and trials before the State Court of BiH War Crimes Chamber since the Chamber was established.

 

Radio Justice Report Begins on August 14

Starting this week, ever Friday, BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina will broadcast a weekly ten-minute radio magazine programme on war-crimes trials.

The BIRN Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina will mark the first anniversary of its Radio Justice programme in the near future. The programme has been well received by colleague reporters as well as by the domestic BiH audience and the Diaspora. 

Encouraged by this positive response and by constructive criticism, the BIRN Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina has decided to launch a weekly magazine programme on trials conducted before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The ten-minute programme will be broadcast on our partnering radio stations starting on August 14, this Friday. The programme will consist of news about the latest trials before the War Crimes Chamber, analysis and announcements regarding the following week’s trials. We will use audio files from the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as those recorded by our journalists in the field.

The BIRN Office produced its first audio reports in October 2007. Originally it produced a series of radio features on the status of the local judiciary. The BIRN team of journalists visited courts and prosecutors’ offices in nine towns across the country. The features were broadcast by radio stations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In August 2008 we began broadcasting daily news about war-crimes trials before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The BIRN team produces at least two audio reports daily. These reports are broadcast by about 130 radio stations in BiH, and by radio stations outside the country.

From the very beginning the stories have been well received.

Radio Justice was initiated with the aim of making Justice Report stories produced in written form accessible to a larger number of people who are interested in following trials conducted before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For four years Justice Report has covered the trials conducted before the Chamber. All reports are published on our web page: www.bim.ba; they are also conveyed through numerous print and electronic media in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the region and further afield. Our page receives more than 11,000 hits each month.

Radio Justice is broadcast in local language, and the written reports are published in local language and English.

Because of the success of Justice Report, it became possible to launch the Radio Justice project, which has generated considerable public interest from its inception.

Since August 2008 we have published more than 300 reports, which have been broadcast on radio and TV. All our written and audio reports are provided free of charge.

Our estimates show that Radio Justice reaches about one million listeners.

The BIRN team guarantees that Justice Report and Radio Justice reports are objective, timely and of the highest quality.

Inspired by the success of our print and audio reports, the BIRN Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina intends to start a new project called TV Justice. This will comprise half-hour TV programmes which will be provided free of charge to local TV stations for broadcast, starting from the biggining of next year.

Book Launch in Sarajevo

“Power struggle: Meeting Global Energy Challenges in Balkans” http://fellowship.birn.eu.com/powerstruggle/index.html a compilation of articles, written by journalists as part of the Balkans Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence in 2008 was launched in Sarajevo today.

The 10 journalists whose articles appear in the book were selected in a competition open to writers from across the Balkans and their investigative articles are dedicated to the issue of production, use and lack of energy in the Balkans, and the politics surrounding energy policy.

The event was attended by the BIH media, the diplomatic corps, representatives of NGO’s and the wider international community. BIRN BIH Program Manager, Anisa Suceska Vekic presented the fellowship initiative and offered media representatives the opportunity to republish the articles in the book.

Mirsad Bajtarevic, from BH Radio 1, whose article on wind energy scooped the overall third prize presented his article to the guests:

“This is a story about the inability of foreign institutions to develop a project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite local interest,” Bajtarevic said. He called upon all journalists to apply to be a part of the 2009 programme, “as it represents an ideal opportunity for a committed writer to develop their investigative work”.

In the course of his investigation, Bajtarevic was mentored by Srecko Latal, one of the editors of BIRN’s popular Balkan Insight website. Latal told the audience that the timescale and wide scope of the fellowship offered a rare opportunity for journalists to focus on subjects which they want to investigate in detail.

“It was my pleasure to work with Mirsad, because he has vast knowledge of this subject,” Latal told the audience.

BIRN BIH representatives presented the first ten copies of the book to the Media Centre Library to thank the Media Centre for their continued support of the media in the country.
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After the presentation the guests enjoyed a brief cocktail party.

More than 200 media outlets and 10,000 Justice Report magazine subscribers in BIH, the region and worldwide have received press releases and information about the promotion and copies of the book.
In the next weeks, BIRN BIH will distribute the book to libraries in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar Universities, the National Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina and other academic and research libraries.

The programme was initiated by the Robert Bosch and Erste Foundations in cooperation with BIRN, in order to support the professional development of journalists in the region and to assist in the development of international standards in the local media.

Additional details about the book and the journalistic excellence programme can be found at http://fellowship.birn.eu.com/.

Justice Report Attends OSCE Round Table in Doboj

BIRN – Justice Report presented its work on the reporting of war crimes trials in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to participants of the second round table on “Models of cooperation between prosecution and civil society in the field of war crimes processing”, held in Doboj.

The round table, held in Doboj on November 14, 2008, was attended by representatives of the Cantonal/Regional Prosecution Departments in Zenica and Doboj, as well as representatives of victims’ associations from the Zenica-Doboj Canton and the Doboj region.

Along with BIRN’s Justice Report, which was represented by our journalist Denis Dzidic, members of the “Izvor” association from Prijedor and “Vive zene” from Tuzla presented their activities in the field of establishing cooperation between the NGO sector and Prosecutor’s offices. Refik Hodzic, who attended the meeting on behalf of the Hague Tribunal Secretariat in Sarajevo, moderated the meeting.
 
The need for regular exchange of data between the Prosecution services and the associations of victims and former detainees was one of the key conclusions of this meeting. It was further stressed that there  was a need to establish better communication between the Prosecution services and the media with an aim of informing the public in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina about issues related to war crime trials.