Bosnia’s Investigative Beacon Under Threat: The Case of Nataša Miljanović‑Zubac

November 6, 2024 – Bosnia & Herzegovina –

Veteran investigative reporter Nataša Miljanović‑Zubac, a journalist with Radio Television of Republika Srpska, has endured a relentless campaign of intimidation for exposing corruption and organized crime. Over the past two and a half years, she’s survived at least seven criminal acts—including arson, violent threats, ominous messages, and psychological torture—all of which have gone unpunished.

In mid-2022, unknown assailants torched her vehicle outside her home in Trebinje, which she described as her livelihood, and her reporting was significantly disrupted as a result. Following that, with no legal accountability, the threats escalated: a headless doll doused in red paint left on her doorstep, death threats scrawled on her home reading “Dead mouths don’t speak,” infrared beams aimed at her living space, and graffiti stating “Die NMZ” at her son’s countryside home. On January 15, 2025, police documented a specific death threat in the form of “head…”—an unfinished but ominous warning—intended to terrorize her.

Despite appeals for protection, the response from Republika Srpska authorities—including Trebinje’s police and judiciary—has been slow, fragmented, or inadequate. Minimal safety measures were implemented only after repeated international appeals from Women Press Freedom, MFRR, SafeJournalists, ECPMF, IPI, and others. Zubac herself says the protection offered amounts to being confined in her own country: “I live like a prisoner in my own country”.

Her ordeal epitomizes a broader crisis: women investigative journalists in the Western Balkans are systematically targeted, and legal/physical protections are often absent. RSF and Women’s Press Freedom have stressed that unresolved attacks against media professionals propagate a dangerous culture of impunity.

Journalists like Zubac shine a light on corruption and crime, but only with systemic protections can democracy endure. Without thorough investigations, prosecutions, and effective protection measures, the message from Bosnia’s institutions is chilling: speaking truth to power may cost you everything.

Reference – 

https://www.womeninjournalism.org/alerts/call-to-protect-journalist-nataa-miljanovi-zubac-as-threats-trigger-concerns-for-safety

Bosnia and Herzegovina: MFRR and SafeJournalists urgently call for stronger protection for journalist Nataša Miljanović Zubac

Bosnia and Herzegovina: protection for journalist needed – ipi.media