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The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN BiH) is an NGO based in Sarajevo specialized in monitoring and reporting war crimes trials.

Established January 2005
Headquarter Sarajevo
Court Monitoring
Sarajevo
Eastern Sarajevo
Travnik
Bijeljina
Tuzla
Mostar
Livno
Gorazde
Gacko
Zenica
Bihac
Doboj
Brcko
Banja Luka
Number of employees 40 +
Language
Bosnian
Croatian
Serbian
English

Country Director Anisa Sućeska-Vekić
Website
http://birn.eu.com/en/network/birn-bosnia-and-herzegovina-home
http://www.justice-report.com/en/page/home
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/page/all-balkans-home
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/page/balkan-transitional-justice-home

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Bosnia and Herzegovina[1] (BIRN BiH) is a non-profit organization based in Sarajevo that specializes in monitoring and reporting war crimes trials before the Court of BiH War Crimes Chamber as well as Cantonal and District courts. Acting as a public information service in the field of domestic judiciary and human rights protection, BIRN BiH works to increase public understanding and support for war crime prosecution. Furthermore, BIRN BiH supports the development of high quality media and civil society in BiH, aiming to empower a citizenry that exercises its democratic rights and obligations, and is fully active in the governance of its country.

BIRN BiH is a member of the BIRN network, which includes BIRN Hub, BIRN Ltd, BIRN Kosovo, BIRN Macedonia, and BIRN Serbia.

BIRN network has a number of publications and projects, including the Justice Series: Media, Civil Society, and War Crime Trials, Balkan Insight, Balkan Transitional Justice. The Justice Series is a media programme run by BIRN BiH and consisting of the organization’s flagship publication - Justice Report, Radio Justice, and TV Justice. These projects communicate via 300 media outlets reaching close to one million people worldwide. They include daily, weekly, and monthly radio and TV programs; online articles, reports, and analyses in English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian language. In addition, BIRN BiH founded the Association of Court Reporters, a countrywide advocacy network in charge of promoting judiciary-media cooperation.


Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, Bosnia and Herzegovina[modifier | modifier le code]

History[2][modifier | modifier le code]

BIRN BiH was established in January of 2005 to address the absence of media attention towards issues related to transitional justice and post-war reconciliation. Since its foundation, BIRN BiH has analyzed and informed the public on war crimes trials at the state and local courts throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, it remains one of the few sources of information on war crimes prosecution before the domestic judiciary.

Highlights[modifier | modifier le code]

Various regional and international entities—including the judiciary and a number of war crimes victims—have voiced their support and appreciation for BIRN BiH’s contribution to the post-war reconciliation process. “BIRN BiH promotes independent media, and raises the standard of professional reporting. Its investigative stories have sparked off many positive processes and brought to prominence the personal stories of victims which are all too often neglected in the public sphere” Tim Judah, The Economist, The Guardian, BIRN contributor.

Over the past years, BIRN BiH developed extensive expertise and know-how in following all war crime trials in the whole of BiH. Given the physical distance between the former Yugoslavia and The Hague, the lack of consistent coverage b locally based media…BIRN BiH’s reports are a much needed source of accurate and easily understandable information about oru cases and daily activities. BIRN BiH reaches out to those to whom this information matters the most: the people of the former Yugoslavia,Serge Brammertz, ICTY chief Prosecutor.

At the end of the year 2013[3], BIRN BiH produced over 400 issues of Justice Report weekly magazine and wrote over 20,000 courtside reports, analyses, and investigations. The BIRN team also produced over 2,500 radio reports and investigative reportages, and 50 TV Justice magazines. The organization distributes its material via its website, which receives over one million visits annually from BiH, the region, diaspora countries and beyond.

Notable Reporting[modifier | modifier le code]

Over the years, numerous publications have been used as evidence in a number of war crimes trials throughout BiH.

In 2012[4], the State prosecutor’s Office submitted BIRN BiH’s analysis – Grbavica Killer’s Memory Still Haunts Grbavica – from December 2008 as evidence because it contained statements by Grbavica inhabitants recalling Vlahovic expelling and killing their neighbors. The defense later requested every report published between April 2011 and August 2012 by BIRN BiH on Vlahovic’s trial. In his closing arguments, the defense attorney Radivoje Lazarevic acknowledged BIRN BiH’s expertise and objectivity in reporting the Vlahovic trial, as distinct from other media outlets reporting the trial.

An analysis published in 2012—titled “The Untold Story of the Dretelj Horrors”—compelled a former UNPROFOR member, Hector Gullan, to give BIRN BiH a statement about what he witnessed during the war. “I have read with great interest your recent report on Dretelj- ‘The Untold Story.’ Absolutely correct! Those who committed crimes against humanity in Dretelj need to be brought to justice.”

During his stay at The Hague Tribunal Miodrag Stojanovic, one of the defense councils of Ratko Mladic, said BIRN – Justice Report was his only link to what was happening in BiH when it comes to the work of the Court of BiH I war crimes processing. “BIRN – Justice Report was my window to the world,” said Stojanovic.

Another defense lawyer at The Hague Tribunal Peter Robinson who is advising Radovan Karadzic said: “BIRN – Justice Report is highly objective and professional from all other media. It is very useful in my work and I read it every day.”

Vasvija Vidovic, a long-time lawyer with legal experience before domestic and international institutions, completed an analysis for BIRN BiH entitled Visibility of Justice Allows for Fair Trials in October. She discussed the necessity for publicity of criminal proceedings and denies the criticism that witnesses can be influenced in their testimonies by media reports.

Many academic institutions rely on BIRN’s reports. At Duke University in the United States, BIRN materials are assigned as mandatory reading in some under- graduate courses[5]. Others—including Impunity Watch, Swiss Association Against Impunity TRIAL, Human Rights Watch, University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies, Global Investigative Journalism Network, ICTY —have consistently referenced BIRN BiH as an excellent source of reporting.

Critical Reception[modifier | modifier le code]

"For Balkan watchers, BIRN BIH offers an immense resource: committed to fairness, superbly edited, and user-friendly. Can a news service win the Nobel? Besides reportage, BIRN BIH is itself a force for justice and European integration," says Steven F. Sage, a research historian from Washington DC and former U.S. Consul in Sofia, Bulgaria.

As an editor of this radio station, I am very satisfied of your work and proud of our cooperation. We broadcast your weekly show on Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm and the daily reports in our news many times during the day. Our audience is very much interested in war crimes and issues of the past and due to that demand we are happy to say that Local Justice Under Spotlight has been a huge success. We really want to compliment the quality of your audio files and speed you deliver them,” said the editor in chief of Radio of Federation of BiH Dzevad Kucukalic.

First of all I want to thank you for your material and readiness to assist us anytime. As a journalist dealing with war crimes reporting, I must say that I am constantly relying on the content you produce…” Irena Antic, reporter of the Radio of Federation of BiH.

Over the past years, BIRN BiH developed extensive expertise and know-how in following all war crime trials in the whole of BiH. Given the physical distance between the former Yugoslavia and The Hague, the lack of consistent coverage by locally based media, and the Tribunal’s own limitations in dissemination information, BIRN BiH’s reports area much needed source of accurate and easily understandable information about our cases and daily activities. BIRN BiH reaches out to those to whom this information matters the most: the people of the former Yugoslavia,” Serge Brammertz, ICTY Chief Prosecutor.

BIRN BiH promotes independent media, and raises the standard of professional reporting. Its investigative stories have sparked off many positive processes and brought to prominence the personal stories of victims which are all too often neglected in the public sphere,” Tim Judah, The Economist, The Guardian, BIRN contributor.

External links[modifier | modifier le code]

References[modifier | modifier le code]

  1. "BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina." About. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://birn.eu.com/en/network/birn-bosnia-and-herzegovina-about>
  2. "BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina." About. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://birn.eu.com/en/network/birn-bosnia-and-herzegovina-about>
  3. BIRN. Annual Report 2013. Sarajevo: Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2013
  4. BIRN. Annual Report 2012. Sarajevo: Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2012
  5. A. Barbour, Stephanie. "Making Justice visible: Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Domestic war Crimes Trials Outreach." Transitional justice, culture, and society . New York: International Center for Transitional Justie, 2014. 96