Amendments to the criminal legislation of the entity of Republika Srpska (RS), labeled by some subjects in the public as an intended unacceptable suppression of freedom of speech, have been announced in the agenda of the session of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, convened for tomorrow in Banja Luka.
In the meantime, some media reported that a protest of dissatisfied citizens and media workers will be held tomorrow in Banja Luka.
The draft law on amendments to the Criminal Code of the RS, colloquially called the ‘law on the criminalization of defamation’, treats defamation and insult as criminal offenses and announces high fines for violators, according to the information published so far.
Subjects from the journalistic community understood it as a regulation that, together with a set of other regulations, could negatively affect the freedom of speech of the media in that entity. In addition to journalists’ associations, some international organizations also reacted to the potential passing of such law.
