Bahraini Press Association: New Press Law “a Crime” for Bahrain and Journalists; Government Must Cease Action
London – Bahraini Press Association – 8th of November 2019: The Bahraini Press Association confirms that, after reading the new Press and Media bill in Bahrain, the bill establishes to contain freedoms of opinion, expression, and the press; which overrides the levels of press freedoms in Bahrain before the reforms project, and abiding by the country’s constitution.
The Association warns that the bill is a full crime and a total disappointment, especially that many of the bill’s articles contain blatant restrictions on the freedom of the press, where it places the publishing media under the control of the government, and the journalists under laws related to penalties and terrorism together.
The cabinet has debuted its weekly meeting (Sunday the 27th of October 2019) studying the Press and Media bill so it would be sent to the parliament after endorsement.
Around 25% of the new bill’s 85 articles declare the possible penalties journalists and their employers would face if the law is breached. The bill specialized 20 articles to form trials and penalties that start with huge fines and ends with imprisoning journalists. This comes at a critical period where the government has practiced, since 2011, systematic policies towards press freedoms and freedoms of expression and opinion in the country.
Journalist Imprisonment
Although the bill states in Article 80 that “it’s impermissible to remand a journalist,” yet the permissibility of taking journalists to court in accordance to other valid laws in the country, such as the penalties and terrorism law, means that the bill indirectly states that there’s a possibility of imprisoning journalists. While article 68 takes journalists to account in accordance to the penalties law; and article 67 indicates to the penalizing of journalists “without any breach to a tougher penalty in any other law”. Any apprehension based on these laws confirms the direction towards tightening the grip on publishing cases.
The Bahraini Press Association expresses its refusal to these articles and referring journalists to any other penalties outside the Press law, as well as it’s unacceptable to imprison journalists under any circumstances. The Association sees that the strictness in the penalties of the bill shows that the government doesn’t tolerate freedoms of opinion and expression, and the latter continues in its project to tighten its grip on freedoms of opinion and expression and control it.
The Association rejects, as well, the inclusion of the bill to, what is understood as, the dismissal of journalists from their jobs. It sees that the 10th article of the bill places a full frame of the dismissal process. The article organizes the journalist’s dismissal procedures that start with investigating with him and ends in his suspension after reaching an agreement between him and his employer.
Press Freedom
The Association confirms that at the time that the bill stresses on press freedom, yet its articles contain it with several vague expressions that could hold many explanations. There are many clauses that could place a journalist under accountability. Articles 64, 65, 66, 67, and 68 define 19 clauses that are considered prohibited which would lead, if breached, the journalist to strict accountability. These clauses were worded so that they could easily adapt with any accusation against the journalists.
Among these clauses are huge fines for journalists in the case of publishing or spreading what is considered “a blemish in the ruler or a prime minister of an Arab, Islamic, or any other state that the kingdom has diplomatic representation in.”
The Association sees that this clause can be easily modulated at any time against journalists that tackle Arab, regional, or international affairs. And it questions: what’s the definition of blemish in this clause and what are its boundaries?
In reality, authorities didn’t suffice with these articles that limit press freedom, but it indicated in the 2nd article of the bill that “Press freedom (…) is guaranteed in accordance to the conditions and provisions based on this law and its executive list and the decisions issued by the ministry.” The ministry didn’t accompany the bill with the executive list, and it’s unknown what are the explanations that this list would include, and whether it will contain more restrictions on press freedom.
Article 13 also barred the prevented the publication of any item that is conflicts with the constitution or contravenes with commitments mentioned in the code of honor. The bill, in its first article, defined the code of honor as “the basis of the organizational behavior for journalistic ethics issued by the order of the minister.”
The Right to Gather Information
It doesn’t differ much for the right to obtain information than press freedom, for the 6th article has indicated that the journalist’s right to obtain information is only “permissible in accordance to the laws of its source.”
The article doesn’t oblige the governmental and private sector parties to give journalists information, but it specified that with “providing its information, statistics, and available news that doesn’t pose a legal problem or breaches in the general order in the case of publishing or attainment.”
The Association sees that such wordings are in line with Press rights, yet, at the same time, place legal escapes to violate and restrain them.
Blocking or Shutting Down a Press Institution
The bill provided the closure and blocking newspapers and websites in four places, and it didn’t confine that to judicial rulings solely, but the bill gave right to a specialized party (Ministry of Information) to block websites as well.
Article 62 states that it’s the ministry’s right to issue calls to “shut down a press institution for a duration of 30 days,” and articles 57, 58, and 70 state that courts can block newspapers and websites for a duration that reaches almost a whole year.
The Association saw that it’s not the ministry’s right anyway to block newspapers and websites, calling for obliteration of the articles that grant the judiciary rights to block newspapers, unless under major criminal offenses.
The Association confirms as well that the Ministry of Information, and for the past years, wasn’t a trustworthy side when dealing with newspapers or granting it the right to shut down ones. Especially that the ministry issued illegal decrees, most prominently banning Al-Wasat newspaper from publishing (June 2017) for pure “political” reasons and without a judicial rule.
Internet Monitoring
The Association is surprised from censorship some of the bill’s articles has on websites and e-news media outlets, where article 41 states that the bill’s rulings apply on “electronic publishing houses, electronic newspapers that don’t have published origins, websites and platforms and accounts for news services, websites and platforms for live broadcast and podcasts, websites for print newspapers, Audiovisual content, websites or channels or platforms or e-programs that use organized activities under this law.”
The bill also obligates websites to preserve all what’s published and provide the preserved piece to the ministry at the latter’s request.
The Association sees that involving platforms and news accounts and others in this law reveals the governmental intentions to control the general atmosphere, where the government what’s to tighten its grip on all what’s written and broadcasted online.
Cinema and Visual Media
The law designated clauses specialized in monitoring cinematic work, and article 36 stated to form a committee in the ministry called “The Committee of Monitoring Cinema Movies and Recorded Publications.”
The bill granted the committee vast powers to supervise movies, amongst that the right to delete what is described as “scenes that it sees as a breach to the constituents of the state or society or religion or morals and decency”. And the bill grants the ministry the right in “issuing to cinema owners or supervisors instructions and that aim to maintain the cinema programs under religious, national, moral, artistic, and decency-related standards.”
In this context, the Bahraini Press Association refuses the extents of governmental control that reaches the work of cinema, as it declared its wonder from the government’s disregard to placing a law that permits the proclamation of media and private broadcast outlets.
The Association also calls the government to stop the bill and pave the road for a discussion with civil society institutions to draft a law that preserves freedoms and protects journalists, indicating that the bill in its current format only enforces governmental oppression on journalistic work and the dedication to a systematic policy that targets freedom of opinion and expression in the country.