Five ways to ensure a free and objective Media in Bahrain

London – Bahrain Press Association: Bahrain’s reputation continues to deteriorate on the international stage in relation to the media’s freedom. For example, the organisation “Freedom House” has been included in its annual report for the year freedom of the press in Bahrain in 2014 ranked second worst Arab country after Syria. Bahrain also won the “enemy of the State of the Internet” rating, in the last three annual reports of the organisation.

“Reporters without Borders” put Bahrain at the bottom of a compiled index for press freedoms in the world for the year 2015; ranked 163 on a list of 180 countries, indicating it is placed within the “black list”. There is no doubt that this is a worrying situation. Is there a way to improve it? Here are the top 5 steps that Bahrain needs to implement in order to ensure real freedom for the media and press, and rehabilitation to overcome the ‘black list’ being passed to future generation. .

Adopting modern media law

The current press law issued in 2002 which contains at least 6 points that provides “regulation of the press, printing and publishing,” which states there will be criminal penalties against journalists including imprisoned law. Also, the law ignores any legislation relating to the areas of television and radio media. That makes it easier to process the state monopoly of the two opposing media activities.

The new law has ignored the current “Information and Communication Law” that is held by the Parliament, which refers to the imprisonment of journalists’ explicit text which apparently can be replaced with a fine. However, those amendments retained the text which comes at the beginning of the articles on sanctions that says: “Without prejudice to the provisions of any other law.” Which reconnects the new law, the Penal Code, that contains material related to opinion, expression and publication identical in text with the media law, but punished by imprisonment. According to experts opinion “These amendments have no value and will not lead to any change as long as the Sisters of these substances laws, found in the Penal Code have not been canceled.”

The new law has provided the freedom to establish private channels, but gave ministers the right to “close the channel or prevent the transmission of any radio or television or electronic equipment if the content is deemed to be posing a threat to public order”. It opens the door to oppressing any opinion under the pretext of the threat of public order. To open up the freedom of media and the press a law is required that will enlighten and facilitates the establishment of media institutions and provides reporters legal immunity from prosecution on charges related to their opinion.

Break the monopoly of broadcast media

The authorities monopolises the process that includes both audio and visual media. There aren’t any independent radios or TV channels as the government owns and controls all media outlets, and refuses all requests made by various interested parties in Bahrain to open TV channels, including application of the “Al-Wifaq” society.

In 2012, authorities permitted the launch of “Al-Etihad” channel on the basis that it is a private channel; but it turned out to be a government controlled channel that was entrusted to curse and insult the opponents in a manner that has become impossible to use in the national media, especially after the “Bassiouni” report, which acknowledged the use of provocative language by Bahrain TV that often degrades the dignity of the governments’ opponents.

Despite repeated promises by successive Ministers of Information to pave the way for investment in the media sector and private channels, the authorities are still gripping firmly on such type of media. Recently, Bahrain has been granting some foreign channels permission to open special offices in Bahrain; most of them belong to the Gulf States as a conduit “News Arabia” and “Al-Arabia” and “Sky News” under political decisions. But it forbids them of addressing the situation in Bahrain or broadcasting reports that is of conflicting view to that of the government’s on the country’s matters.

In February 2015 Bahrain halted the transmission of the “Arabs” channel and withdrew its license after broadcasting an interview with an opposition figure.

There is a real need to open the media field to reflect the different points of view but this will not happen unless there are authentic privately owned channels that are free of state control. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman are the only countries within the Gulf states that are strict on privately run channels, regarding the matter as a ‘taboo’ ; a direct contrast to UAE, Qatar and Kuwait.

Non-interference in media content

Authorities in Bahrain are not only spreading fear and pressure on freedom of speech; which is shaping the local media, limiting its content and preventing the publication of press articles that contradict its interests, but they are also continuing their control of the court as a tool to dictate all the media’s publication.

This is exemplified by the instructions that are sent to newspapers every so often forbidding them from trading on specific topics, in accordance of administrative decisions and judicial sometimes. It has also intervened to prevent the publication of press materials affecting journalists from the pro-government and opposition columnists such as Sawsan Al-Shaaer and Tariq Al-Aamer and Hamad Al-Harmi. Also, radio reporters of “Monte Carlo” and “France 24” have been receiving threats of persecution after the broadcast report on naturalisation.

During March 2015, the authorities stopped issuing any permit or statements that represent an opposing direction and view to Bahrain’s participation in military operations in Yemen. The  Criminal High Court and the General Prosecutor’s Office have also made  many decisions in the past year that prevents the circulation of an issue or a particular topic in the media; including the issue of “Bandar report” and the involvement of a former Minister in money laundering.

This atmosphere is contrary to the most basic principles of freedom of expression guaranteed by the Bahraini Constitution; in the section of public rights and duties. There is therefore a need to put an end to the state’s control of the content policies in newspapers and media which are regarded as ‘opposition’ to the government’s interests; and promote a climate that allows opposing and diversed views.

Lift the ban on websites

The Freedom House organisation ranked Bahrain in its annual Press Freedom in 2014, the second-worst Arab country after Syria. It came 188 in a global list under the category of “non-free state.” In the Organisations’ index for “freedom on the Internet”, Bahrain received worse results than last year in terms of the attack on the rights of Internet users, in its restrictions on the content by the state and the obstacles that it creates to a difficult climate for users to access Internet sites.

According to another report issued by “Reporters without Borders” the infrastructure of the Internet in Bahrain are subject to control by the authorities in absolute terms, making it easier to process control information on the Internet, they classified Bahrain as one of the countries that are  “enemies of the Internet”, the third year in a row.

Data taken from two organisations on an annual basis, follows the growing procedures that are adopted by the authorities against the websites managers and Internet activists such as Twitter activist. The authorities’ abuse charges such as “insulting the King” and “abuse of social media” as pretexts ready to hunt down Internet activists.

During the month of February 2015, the state announced the arrest of nine people on charges of “abuse of the means of communication”. There was a campaign of defamation and dissemination against the images of the people arrested within the mass media. Also at least 3 others were arrested in the following month, March after they made some comments on social media that seemed to be critical of the war in Yemen.

Since its founding in 2013, the electronic safety Department of the Ministry of Communications has worked to block access to the following; Internet, applications, “WhatsApp”, “Viper” and “Skype” through a numerous attempts as well as slowing the speed of the Internet for users to prevent the circulation of news in addition to spying on activists by sending viruses through malicious files into their computers.

Ever since the issue of Resolution No. 1 of 2009, which gives the Information Affairs the authority to ban websites, it has shut down more than a thousand website, including discussion forums, opposition and religious sites of the Shia community and political sites. It also prevented the application for the transmission of the “Asdaa” radio of the “Al-Wifaq”. The perception of a prosperous environment for electronic media must begin by removing controls on Internet sites like blogs and citizen journalism and the means of social communication, unless there is a court ruling and to stop the prosecution of Internet activists due to their views that they share on social networks.

 

Stop targeting media workers

According to the data of “The Association of Bahraini journalist”, there are about 295 cases of targeting journalists, recorded during the four years that has seen the intensification of political protests. These cases included different patterns such as the detention, imprisonment, dismissal from work, torture and threats of torture in addition to the cases of killings of activists and online publishers and photographers.

During the year 2015 there were about 73 recorded cases, mostly targeted during the months of January and February, which saw a rising tide of protests in conjunction with the Secretary General of the arrest of “Al-Wifaq,” Sheikh Ali Salman.

This figure is high compared to previous years where the Association recorded 53 cases that were targeted in 2013, for example, and 40 cases in 2012 and about 129 cases in 2011, and with the emergence of a new type of targeting; a deprivation of citizenship as in the cases of four journalists who lost their nationality.

During 2014 Bahrain introduced a law that punishes people accused of insulting the king publicly with imprisonment for up to seven years. It has continuously been using this law to punish journalists and Internet activists, along with “the mob” law used by the authorities to imprison photographers and prevent them from covering abuses of power against the protesters; which caused a high number of cases against the targeting of journalists.

The perception for an environment where real press and media freedom can thrive cannot be done without stop targeting media workers, including the release of detained journalists and photographers because of their work in covering the protests or to exercise their right to freedom of expression.