The parliament of Republika Srpska – the Serbian entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina – has once again approved the law that criminalizes defamation, which according to critics, will limit freedom of expression and silence media critics.

The lawmakers passed the law with 47 votes in favor and 16 against.

The parliament in this part of Bosnia has 83 lawmakers, but not all of them participated in the session.

The law was pushed forward by the pro-Russian president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, who has been sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom for his divisive policies. The new law amends the current law to reintroduce fines of up to 60,000 euros for defamation.

This amount is beyond what the residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina can afford.

The previous law did not consider defamation as a criminal offense.

Journalist organizations in Republika Srpska and international human rights organizations have stated that the new law should not be approved, but Dodik has not listened to their requests.

“With the approval of today’s changes to the Penal Code, the authorities of Republika Srpska have entered a new phase of open suppression of citizens and have joined the worst regimes in this part of the world,” said Transparency International.

Serbian journalists in Bosnia have held several protests against these changes.

Dodik and his party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, have been trying to consolidate power in Republika Srpska.

This entity, along with two other entities of Bosniaks and Croats, was created after the war of 1992-1995, which left 100,000 people dead.