Hajrija Čobo is a woman environmental rights defender from Kakanj and a representative of NGG Park prirode Trstionica i Boriva, an informal grassroots group of local activists who campaign to protect their forests and rivers which are their main source of drinking water. An elementary and secondary school teacher by profession, Hajrija Čobo fights against corruption and the destruction of the environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The environmental rights defender speaks out to raise awareness on the consequences of mining in her hometown Kakanj including deforestation, pollution of the environment and natural watercourses in the region, but also of the health risks posed by the extraction of minerals with heavy metals and carcinogenic elements.
Human rights defenders and journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina face threats and harassment from local authorities and hostility from the general public. Judicial harassment, trumped up charges, smear campaigns followed by anonymous online threats, hate speech and threatening phone calls are often used by the authorities and non-state actors to intimidate human rights defenders and to undermine their peaceful and legitimate work. Human rights defenders are often presented by media as “foreign agents”, promoters of “illegal immigration” and at odds with traditional values.
