Abusive phone call follows journalists’ reporting on corruption implicating the Mayor

Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šipovo
Date: September 15, 2023

Bosnian journalists Alena Beširević and Harun Dinarević were targeted with a barrage of misogynistic, sexist, and homophobic insults by the Mayor of Šipovo municipality in Republika Srpska. The abusive phone call occurred after the reporters’ article exposed corruption and mismanagement in the forestry sector, implicating the mayor. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns this attack on the journalists, demands they are treated with respect, and calls on Mayor Milan Kovač to apologize.

"In a short call, Kovač insulted me and my colleague Alena Beširević,” says Naratorium reporter Harun Dinarević. He explains that abuse from the politician “varied from exhibitionist offers, through misogynistic and homophobic insults, to threats of sexual violence.”

On September 15, 2023, the Mayor of Sipovo municipality in Republika Srpska, Milan Kovač, called the journalist out of the blue and verbally attacked Beširević and Dinarević.

During the call, Kovač told the journalist to "Come to me and su** my di**." He didn't stop there, hurling another offensive comment, "I have a di** as big as yours, in case you are gay," at the journalist. Kovač even urged Dinarević to record the conversation and make it public.

The call was a reaction to an article by Beširević and Dinarević exposing corruption in the forestry sector published in Naratorium on September 13, 2023. Alongside European journalist colleagues, Beširević and Dinarević have been investigating deforestation and illegal logging in the country for months.

The exposé reveals how Milan Kovač's family controls several local timber companies, in particular Kovač's nephew, Sime Zečević. Despite owing money and failing to meet the required criteria for timber allocation, Zečević's company has been granted thousands of cubic meters of timber. The blatant favoritism has drawn criticism from other wood processing companies in Šipovo, who accuse Kovač of manipulating the scoring system for timber allocation to benefit his nephew's business.

Political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina often espouse hateful and insulting language when speaking about independent media and journalists. President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, is notorious for his contempt towards the press and has been accused of creating a hostile environment for journalists in the country. His frequent tirades and campaigns against independent journalists and news outlets have resulted in increased assaults and harassment of press workers.

Last month, journalist Mirza Dervišević was brutally beaten outside his home in Brčko. He told CPJ he believed the attack was retaliation for reporting on alleged links between criminal gangs and local politicians. In July, the apartment of investigative journalists from Žurnal, Žana Karić Gauk and her partner, editor Eldin Karić, was ransacked in Sarajevo. Nothing was taken except their work computers. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the vile insults directed at Alena Beširević and Harun Dinarević and demands that the Mayor of Šipovo Milan Kovač apologize immediately. We also call on political leaders, public officials, and authorities in Republika Srpska to refrain from intimidating, threatening, or endorsing violence against journalists. They must unequivocally denounce such actions to minimize the risks and threats journalists face and preserve trust in their credibility and the value of independent journalism.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.