Cyber ​​violence against journalists and the orchestrated spread of hate speech via social networks have become increasingly common in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s society in recent years. An occurence to which the institutions, above all the prosecutor’s offices and the courts, do not have an adequate response for now.

Dalija Hasanbegović-Konaković is a well-known TV personality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is a long-time journalist for Al Jazeera Balkans and the wife of Sarajevo politician Elmedin Konaković, president of the Narod i Pravda (NiP) party and current minister of foreign affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Precisely because of the fact that her husband is a politician, Dalija and her family have been the “target” of Konaković’s opponents on social networks for years. Through dozens of public and anonymous fake profiles, the so-called “bots” spread national and religious hatred almost daily and with impunity, write sexist insults and lies, create various conspiracy theories against Dalija and her family… The goal is clear: to destroy Konaković’s credibility in public at any cost. And what exactly is that cost, Dalija Hasanbegović-Konaković spoke in an interview for Radio Sarajevo in 2019:

“In March, I was the victim of the most brutal sexist violations of these creatures. Bots and their followers ‘treated’ me with the most vulgar names and sentences. It honestly caught me completely off guard. I’m used to being disliked, to haters and animosity, but I’ve never been the target of such sexist attacks in my life. At the time I didn’t say anything about it publicly, because it was extremely difficult for me, but after they started targeting me again in June, only now in a different context – I decided that I would fight against those people and that abuse. That’s when I spoke publicly for the first time,” said Dalija.

The cyber bullies wrote, among other, that she was connected to the terrorist organization FETO, due to the fact that she graduated from the Catholic School Center that she was on some kind of secret mission to convert Muslims to Christianity, “her mother is married to a Croat” and her sister married a Greek and “left Islam”… And much more. The online abuse continues, and all of this has had consequences on Dalija’s health. A few years ago, she had a miscarriage which, Dalija believes, was largely caused by the stress she was experiencing at the time due to everything that was written about her and her loved ones on social networks.

One of the ringleaders of a group of cyber abusers who continuously attack “unfit” Bosnian journalists and media outlets is Jasmin Mulahusić. Originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mulahusić lives in Luxembourg, from where he manages an army of bots on social networks. His Facebook profiles have thousands of followers who almost fanatically support him in his radical views and spreading hatred towards dissenters.

In September 2021, while visiting his homeland, Mulahusić was arrested at the border crossing on his way out of the country. At that time, it was announced that the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina was conducting an investigation against him for the criminal offense of spreading national, religious and racial intolerance, based on numerous reports filed against Mulahusić by journalists and several politicians. However, just a few days after his arrest he was released, with the conclusion of the judge of the Court of BiH, Tatjana Kosović, that expressing a somewhat “stronger opinion” about individuals is not a sufficient basis for ordering detention. After returning to Luxembourg, Mulahusić, encouraged by the decision of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, continued unhindered to incite hatred via Internet. Three years later, journalists are filing new criminal charges against him, and the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina is still investigating… There is still no indictment.

And while the courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina evidently have a dilemma where freedom of speech ends and hate speech begins, it is encouraging is that more and more of those who are targeted by cyber violence decide to speak out publicly.

Dalija Hasanbegović-Konaković says that this is the best way for journalists, as well as for all other citizens, to fight against bots and online bullies:

“The advice ‘ignore, let them write what they want and keep quiet’ only benefits bullies, and is not at all benevolent towards the victim who decides to tell someone that she or he is the target of electronic or any other violence. So if you can’t help it, don’t tell someone who has the courage to speak up to shut up and ignore it. Silence encourages bullies and imposes deviant behavior as the norm.”

Cyber nasilje nad novinarkama i novinarima i orkestrirano širenje govora mržnje putem društvenih mreža posljednjih godina sve su učestalija pojava u bh. društvu. Pojava na koju institucije, prije svih tužilaštva i sudovi, za sada nemaju adekvatan odgovor. 

Dalija Hasanbegović-Konaković poznato je TV lice u Bosni i Hercegovini. Dugogodišnja je novinarka Al Jazeere Balkans i supruga sarajevskog političara Elmedina Konakovića, predsjednika stranke Narod i pravda (NiP) i aktuelnog ministra vanjskih poslova BiH. 

Upravo zbog činjenice što joj je suprug političar, Dalija i njena porodica su već godinama na “meti” Konakovićevih oponenata na društvenim mrežama. Sa desetina javnih i anonimnih lažnih profila, takozvani “botovi” gotovo svakodnevno, i nekažnjeno, šire nacionalnu i vjersku mržnju, pišu seksističke uvrede i laži, kreiraju različite teorije zavjere protiv Dalije i njene porodice… Cilj je jasan: u javnosti srušiti kredibilitet Konakovića po svaku cijenu. A kolika je to cijena, u intervjuu za Radio Sarajevo još 2019. godine govorila je Dalija Hasanbegović-Konaković:

“U martu sam bila žrtvom najbrutalnijeg seksističkog iživljavanja tih spodoba. Botovi i njihovi sljedbenici tada su me častili najvulgarnijim imenima i rečenicama. To me iskreno zateklo potpuno nespremnu. Naviknuta sam da me svi ne vole, na hejtere i animozitete, ali nikada u životu nisam bila meta takvog seksističkog iživljavanja. O tome nisam tada ništa javno pričala, jer je mi je bilo izuzetno teško, ali nakon što su u junu opet od mene počeli praviti metu, samo sada u drugom kontekstu – odlučila sam da ću se protiv tih ljudi i tog zlostavljanja boriti. Tada sam i prvi put javno progovorila o svemu“, ispričala je Dalija.

Cyber nasilnici o njoj su, između ostalog, pisali da je povezana sa terorističkom organizacijom FETO, da je zbog činjenice što je završila Katolički školski centar u nekakvoj tajnoj misiji pokrštavanja muslimana, da joj je “majka udana za Hrvata”, a sestra se udala za Grka i “napustila islam”…  I još mnogo toga. Online zlostavljanje i dalje traje, a sve to ostavilo je posljedice i po Dalijino zdravlje. Prije nekoliko godina doživjela je spontani pobačaj koji je, vjeruje, uveliko bio izazvan stresom koji je tada proživljavala zbog svega što su o njoj i njenim najbližima pisali na društvenim mrežama. 

Jedan od kolovođa grupe cyber zlostavljača koji kontinuirano napadaju “nepodobne” bosanskohercegovačke novinare/ke i medije zove se Jasmin Mulahusić. Porijeklom iz Bosne i Hercegovine, Mulahusić je stalno nastanjen u Luksemburgu, odakle upravlja armijom botova na društvenim mrežama. Njegovi profili na Facebooku imaju više hiljada pratilaca koji ga gotovo fanatično podržavaju u radikalnim stavovima i širenju mržnje prema neistomišljenicima. 

U septembru 2021., dok je boravio u posjeti domovini, Mulahusić je uhapšen na graničnom prelazu na izlazu iz zemlje. Tada je objavljeno da Tužilaštvo Bosne i Hercegovine protiv njega vodi istragu zbog krivičnog djela širenja nacionalne, vjerske i rasne netrpeljivosti, a na temelju brojnih prijava koje su protiv Mulahusića podnijeli novinari i nekoliko političara. No, samo par dana nakon privođenja pušten je na slobodu, uz zaključak sutkinje Suda BiH Tatjane Kosović da nešto “oštrije mišljenje” o pojedincima nije dovoljna osnova za određivanje pritvora. Nakon povratka u Luksemburg, Mulahusić je, ohrabren odlukom Suda BiH, nastavio neometano raspirivati mržnju putem interneta. Tri godine kasnije, novinari i novinarke i dalje podnose nove krivične prijave protiv njega, a Tužilaštvo BiH i dalje vodi istragu… Optužnice još uvijek nema. 

I dok sudovi u Bosni i Hercegovini evidentno imaju dilemu gdje prestaje sloboda govora, a počinje govor mržnje, jedino što je ohrabrujuće jeste da sve više onih prema kojima je cyber nasilje usmjereno odlučuju da javno govore o tome. 

Dalija Hasanbegović-Konaković poručuje da je to najbolji način na koji se novinari i novinarke, ali i svi drugi građani mogu izboriti protiv botova i online nasilnika: 

“Savjet ‘ignoriši, pusti da pišu šta hoće i šuti’ koristi samo nasilnicima, a nije uopšte dobronamjeran prema žrtvi koja odlući reći nekome da je meta elektronskog ili bilo kakvog drugog nasilja. Dakle, ako ne možete pomoći, nemojte onome ko je skupio hrabrost da progovori govoriti da šuti i ignoriše. Šutnja ohrabruje nasilnike i devijantno ponašanje nameće kao normu.”