Nataša Miljanović Zubac: They didn't scare me, I'll talk about their crimes later

This is classic torture and enormous pressure on me, or rather an attempt to stop me from doing what I'm doing, but they won't succeed, despite the "treatment" I received - I was detained in a two-by-two room, without windows, and then, as if I were at least a serious criminal, taken to the Prosecutor's Office in handcuffs.

This was told to Vijesti after a hearing at the Sarajevo Prosecutor's Office by a journalist from Radio Television of Republika Srpska. Natasa Miljanovic Zubac, who for years pointed out the connections between crime, security and judicial institutions, published transcripts from Sky, spoke publicly about cigarette and cocaine smugglers, and then ended up in handcuffs instead...

She was arrested the day before last on the prosecutor's order. Sanita Imamovic, who had previously requested a search of her parents' house in Trebinje, citing suspicion that a criminal offense had been committed - disclosure of classified information.

She was taken from Trebinje to Sarajevo, and was released yesterday after questioning.

Miljanović Zubac emphasized that she did what she thought was right, that she did not reveal to the prosecutor who her sources were.

"I never reveal my sources, and what I get, I get from different sides," she said, adding that she would not speak about the charges against her:

"Because she doesn't want to give anyone the opportunity to put additional pressure on her."

"I don't think I've done anything wrong against the state, which is what I'm being accused of in some way. I'm just pointing out the crime in institutions, especially security ones, and I won't stop there. I consider what happened to me to be classic abuse and enormous pressure on me, in an attempt to stop what I'm doing and what I'm going to continue to do," the journalist said.

She added that the prosecutor handling the case came to the prosecutor's office after she was questioned - "to explain the charges to her."

"This is not something that is remembered as having happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I will not comment much, I will just say that I will continue to do everything I do," said Miljanović Zubac.

The Sarajevo Prosecutor's Office arrested a journalist and three police officers from the Border Police, or the Central Investigation Office - Aleksandra Čuljak, Andreu Mujkic i Sanja Krijestorac, charged with disclosing classified information.

They were also released after questioning. One of them is accused of taking photographs and sending police documents to Kriještorac.

Article 164 of the Criminal Code of BiH, to which Prosecutor Imamović refers in the order to search the journalist's parents' house, in paragraph 9, excludes the existence of a criminal offense in certain circumstances.

This paragraph clearly stipulates: “There is no criminal offense of disclosing classified information if someone publishes or mediates in the publication of classified information the content of which is contrary to the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the aim of revealing to the public irregularities related to the organization, operation or management of the service or with the aim of revealing to the public facts that constitute a violation of the constitutional order or an international treaty, if the publication does not have serious harmful consequences for Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

However, that did not stop the prosecutor from verbally requesting a search warrant from the court, without mentioning in a single word that she was a journalist who, for years, has continuously pointed to connections between organized crime groups and security structures.

According to unofficial information provided by Vijesti, Prosecutor Imamović filed the case on the order of the Deputy Chief State Prosecutor. Dzermin Pasic.

This was done after an RTRS journalist allegedly sent letters to Western embassies pointing out shortcomings in the investigation against the leader of the Skalja clan. Sania Al Murde, problematizing the work of Prosecutor Pašić and the kind of protection of the Skaljare people.

Miljanović Zubac told reporters yesterday that she would have responded if the Prosecutor's Office, or any other institution, had sent her a summons.

"I was arrested as the most serious criminal, there was no need. If anyone had sent me a summons, I would have responded to any institution, except that the summons came late at night. I have to say that people were fair last night," said the RTRS journalist, who has been enduring threats and attacks for years.

Her legal representative, attorney Ahmed Efendić, told Sarajevo journalists that it is essential that the prosecution will not request detention.

"It is certain that the Prosecutor's Office will send a request for prohibitive measures, that will happen next week and the court will decide on them later," Efendić told reporters.

REACTIONS

The arrest of Miljanović Zubac was condemned yesterday by numerous media associations, and the SafeJournalists network and the European Federation of Journalists demanded the dismissal of all charges against her.

They assessed that everything that was done was a clear example of institutional pressure and intimidation, which violated the journalist's right to freedom of expression.

"I am just pointing out the crime in institutions, especially security ones, and I will not stop on that path. I consider what happened to me to be classic exploitation and enormous pressure on me, in an attempt to stop what I am doing and what I will continue to do," Miljanović Zubac told Vijesti.

The SafeJournalists Network and the European Federation of Journalists strongly condemn the attempt to criminalize Miljanović Zubac, who reports on crime, while the real perpetrators remain at large.

The Board of Directors of the Association of BH Journalists and the Journalists Helpline announced yesterday that both the Board of Directors and the BiH journalist community, horrified by the fact that authorized persons of the Border Police, based on the approval of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, orally requested and received approval from the Court to search Nataša Miljanović Zubac:

"Since this is a person who, as a responsible journalist and citizen, voluntarily and without any coercion, shared information and documents about possible crime within the ranks of police structures, including the BiH Border Police, for years."

The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS), of which Miljanović Zubac is a member, announced that this is a case of intimidation of journalists through the abuse of institutions.

"According to international standards of media freedom, a journalist who obtains information of public importance, including that marked as confidential or secret, is not responsible for its alleged disclosure," they said.

The independent union of RTRS workers announced that they believe there are clear indications that this is about the Prosecutor's Office's pressure on investigative journalism: "What Miljanović Zubac is known for in the public, and why she has repeatedly received threats and her life has been threatened."