Vienna, 15/03/2010
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) strongly condemns the attack on journalist Rade Tesic from Euroblic, the Bosnian – Herzegovinian edition of the Blic daily in Belgrade, Serbia.
On 13 March, 2010, the car of Tesic – parked near his house in Doboj, Bosnia Herzegovina – was set on fire. A passer-by who noticed the fire managed to avert more material damage to other cars parked nearby by using snow to put out the fire. The passer-by then reported the incident to the police. Fortunately Tesic was not injured during the attack.
Tesic recently wrote about a number of topics that have provoked some fierce reactions in Doboj. The editing staff of EuroBlic received numerous reactions – including some verbal threats.
“To set the car of a journalist on fire is a serious attack on press freedom and is seen as an attempt to intimidate and silence journalists”, said SEEMO Secretary-General Oliver Vujovic.
He added: “SEEMO strongly condemns the attack on the car of Tesic and welcomes the police investigation in order to determine the cause of the fire and to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. Furthermore, SEEMO urges the authorities to do everything in their power to ensure that journalists working in Bosnia Herzegovina are able to safely carry out their profession.”