Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will pick a chairman and members of a new media council under a law giving the body the power to fine or suspend publications and broadcasters and give or revoke licences for foreign media.
The law, approved by parliament on Monday and signed into law by Sisi, creates the so-called Supreme Council for the Administration of the Media whose chairman will be picked by Sisi and whose remaining members will be appointed by him based on nominations from various bodies including the judiciary and parliament.
Human rights organisations and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists have repeatedly criticised media freedoms in Egypt, which jailed the second most journalists of any country in the world in 2015, according to the CPJ.
The new council is tasked with suing media organisations that violate its regulations, creating a list of penalties, fining media organisations that break licence terms, and can revoke or suspend the right to publish or broadcast. It will also ensure fair competition between media groups as well as their independence and neutrality, adherence to journalistic ethics, and will make sure they do not compromise national security, the Official Gazette in which the law was published said.
Yehia Qalash, chief of the press syndicate, told Reuters that the law and the council were mostly concerned with administrative affairs and did not compromise media freedoms. Parliament was still debating other media legislation, he said.
A second media law will cover sentencing, freedom of information, confidentiality of sourcing and the relationship between journalism and national security, lawmakers and press syndicate members said. The press syndicate had lobbied for a single media law encompassing all issues but parliament decided on two separate laws.
Follow The Forefront on:
> facebook Nigerian audience
> The Forefront on Twitter
>BBM Channel: C002CB006 {WELCOME TO THE FOREFRONT}
> The Forefront on Twitter
>BBM Channel: C002CB006 {WELCOME TO THE FOREFRONT}
Share this post with others on social media with options below.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
Disclaimer!!! Opinions expressed in comments do not represent THE FOREFRONT MEDIA NG's views. All participants are entitled to their opinions. Thank you!!!
Advertise on the Forefront: For advert placement in the blog or advert posts like news updates, reach +2348124620827 [WhatsApp].
Copyright 2023 The Forefront Media Ng. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from The Forefront Media Ng