Social Media Lawsuit Against Journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina

In May 2026, Mirnes Ajanović, a lawyer for the private European University Kallos in Tuzla, filed criminal complaints and defamation lawsuits against the BH Journalists Association after it publicly defended two reporters he had accused of manipulating the public. Press freedom monitors have classified the lawsuit against these journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP, and it has drawn statements of solidarity from the European Federation of Journalists and entries on the Council of Europe’s media freedom platform.¹

What the Reporters Told Parliament

On May 11, 2026, freelance journalist Anisa Mahmutović and Adis Mujdanović, editor-in-chief of Plural.ba, testified before the Commission for Combating Corruption of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They described alleged irregularities at several private universities, including European University Kallos, telling the commission that many such institutions were founded through political connections rather than academic merit, that lobbying shaped appointments to the national Agency for the Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance, and that degrees from unaccredited or disputed universities had been used to secure public-sector jobs.²

According to the Minister of Education of the Tuzla Canton, European University Kallos lacked a license for medical, biomedical, and healthcare study programs at the time its operating license was revoked.³

The Social Media Campaign That Preceded the Lawsuits

Two days after the hearing, Ajanović began targeting the two journalists on Facebook. He accused them of “presenting half-truths” and “manipulating the public,” labeled Mahmutović an “SDA associate” (a reference to the Party of Democratic Action), and posted an AI-generated image depicting both reporters alongside the word “CORRUPT.” When Mahmutović said publicly that she would report the pressure to authorities, he accused her of participating in a campaign to discredit the university.⁴⁵

Ajanović holds three overlapping roles. He is legal counsel to European University Kallos, works there as a lecturer, and sits on the Tuzla City Council, where he chairs the Human Rights and Freedoms Commission.⁴

The Lawsuits and Criminal Complaints

On May 14, 2026, the BH Journalists Association (BH Novinari) and its Free Media Help Line issued a statement condemning what they called Ajanović’s “brutal public targeting, defamation and attempts at professional and personal discrediting” of the two reporters, and asked the Bar Association of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Regional Bar Association of Tuzla to distance themselves from his conduct.⁶

On May 20, 2026, Ajanović emailed international and European media organizations, including partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response consortium, informing them that he had filed criminal complaints and defamation lawsuits against “responsible individuals within BH Journalists” and unnamed “media actors.” The SafeJournalists Network catalogued the incident as “unfounded judicial and administrative harassment including SLAPP cases.”¹

BH Novinari said Ajanović had bypassed the legally prescribed routes for disputing reporting, such as requesting corrections or rebuttals, and instead combined litigation with a public campaign. The association called his conduct “a very serious form of political pressure” and an abuse of his dual roles as lawyer and elected official.²

BH Novinari’s Petition to Remove Ajanović From Office

On June 8, 2026, BH Novinari formally petitioned the Tuzla City Council to remove Ajanović from his position as president of the council’s Human Rights and Freedoms Commission, arguing that his conduct was incompatible with a body dedicated to protecting human rights. The petition asked the council to:

Initiate the procedure for removing him from the commission leadership.
Refer the matter to the City Council’s Ethics Committee for review under the Councilors’ Code of Conduct.
Adopt a resolution condemning the intimidation of Mahmutović, Mujdanović, and BH Novinari.

As of early June 2026, the Tuzla City Council had not publicly responded.²

International Response

On May 28, 2026, the European Federation of Journalists issued a statement of “full solidarity” with BH Novinari. The EFJ said the association’s “credibility and legitimacy have been publicly questioned” because of its support for the two reporters, and expressed concern for the safety of the association’s staff and of Mahmutović and Mujdanović, who had faced further discrediting and intimidating comments from online users after Ajanović’s posts.⁷ The case has been logged on the Media Freedom Rapid Response Mapping Media Freedom platform and reported to the Council of Europe’s Media Freedom platform.⁸

Why SLAPPs Succeed in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Defamation suits are a routine pressure tool against the press in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Free Media Help Line reports that 80 percent of civil defamation cases against journalists in the country have been brought by politicians or government officials.⁹

According to lawyer Dario Sandić, the country has no formal anti-SLAPP protections in its legal framework, which makes it difficult for judges to distinguish between legitimate defamation claims and litigation intended to silence critics.¹⁰ Republika Srpska recriminalized defamation in August 2023 and now requires journalists to obtain prior consent before publishing personal information, with imprisonment as a possible penalty.⁹

The broader climate has deteriorated. BH Novinari cites 2026 data placing Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2.61 on the regional Journalist Safety Index, one of the lowest scores in the Western Balkans, and Reporters Without Borders has described media freedom in the country as being at its “lowest level in 25 years.” Roughly 70 percent of reported attacks on journalists in Republika Srpska occur via social media platforms.¹¹

1
SafeJournalists. Threats Against Media Outlets and Organisations – BH Journalists Association
2
SafeJournalists. BH Journalists Demand the Dismissal of Mirnes Ajanovic From the Head of Tuzla’s Human Rights and Freedoms Commission
3
Sarajevo Times. Accredited Universities Without Licenses Degrees Ended Up in Public Institutions
4
Mapping Media Freedom. Alert: Threats Against Journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina
5
SafeJournalists. BH Journalists: Mirnes Ajanovic Abuses His Position as a Lawyer and Publicly Targets Journalists
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BH Novinari. BH Journalists: Mirnes Ajanovic Abuses His Position as a Lawyer and Publicly Targets Journalists
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SafeJournalists. European Federation of Journalists: We Stand in Full Solidarity With BH Journalists
8
BH Novinari. European Federation of Journalists: We Stand in Full Solidarity With BH Journalists
9
U.S. Department of State. 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bosnia and Herzegovina
10
Council of Europe. Journalists, Lawyers and Activists Join Forces to Fight SLAPP in Bosnia and Herzegovina
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BH Novinari. BH Novinari Homepage