The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska today adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of the RS, which criminalizes defamation. This bill was previously supported by 47 MPs, while 16 were against it.
The draft of this law was adopted by the NSRS at the end of March, and after that it was submitted to a public hearing that lasted for 60 days. The law must now go through the procedure in the Council of the People of the RS, and if there is no veto, it can enter into force.
New changes to the Criminal Code make defamation a criminal offense and prescribe fines for making malicious or untrue statements about a person. Although the Draft Law was supported, journalists and activists pointed out that it represents an attack on freedom of opinion and represents a step towards the introduction of censorship in the RS.
During earlier debates on this legislative proposal, the opposition in the RS Assembly demanded that the disputed law be withdrawn from the agenda, but it passed anyway.
The initiator of these changes was Milorad Dodik, and after public discussions, fines for defamation were reduced compared to the original draft and now amount to 1,000 to 3,000 euros.
The bill also provides for fines for public mockery of a particular race, color, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Higher fines are provided for situations when the defamation was presented in the media, including social networks or at a public meeting.
The draft law originally prescribed fines of up to 60,000 euros, but they have now been revised in the final draft of the law.
