A controversial provision in a draft of changes to the law on police in Bosnia's Republika Srpska (RS) entity, which foresees fines or 60 days in jail for those who record and photograph police officers on duty, will most likely be retracted, RS Interior Minister Dragan Lukac said on Thursday.
The Government of Republika Srpska, Bosnia’s Serb-majority part and one of the two semi-autonomous entities within the country, has on March 28 approved the draft and has sent it to the RS National Assembly for adoption.
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According to the changes, persons who “by unauthorised photographing or recording disturb public officials while they are executing their duty” will either have to pay a fine ranging from 500 to 1,500 Marks (€250 – €750) or will have to spend 60 days behind bars.
The EU Delegation to Bosnia, the country’s journalist association ‘BH Novinari’ and organisations such as the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights expressed concern over the potential law changes.
“The changes also violate the rules of the OSCE, the Council of Europe and other European institutions regarding the permitted recording and photographing of events of public importance without seeking prior approval from police or any other public institution,” BH Novinari said in a statement.
But Lukac told reporters in Banja Luka, the administrative centre of the RS, that his ministry never meant to prevent anyone from photographing or recording police officers “in a civil way.”
“But there were always those who would abuse that ability and obstructed the work of police officers and other officials,” he said.
“It was not our intention to prevent the work of journalists,” he said, adding that the RS Interior Ministry protects media freedom.
But lawmakers in the RS National Assembly concluded that the provision is unnecessary.
