Index on Censorship: Leveson, the Royal Charter and press regulation

April 11th, 2013

Demotix

Index on Censorship views press freedom as one core part of the fundamental right to freedom of expression.
(more…)

Thatcher: Paradoxes of secrecy

April 9th, 2013

In this Index on Censorship magazine article from 1988, investigative reporter Duncan Campbell claimed that former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who died this week, was “utterly disdainful of press freedom and open government”

David Fowler / Shutterstock.com

Paradoxes of secrecy – free speech in the Thatcher years

Journalists defiant despite fears of return to Egypt’s bad old days

March 29th, 2013

A recent crackdown on journalists and opposition activists has increased fears that Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi will use tactics similar to his ousted predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, to silence dissent.

Earlier this month, a group of activists spraying anti-Muslim Brotherhood graffiti on the ground outside the headquarters of the Islamist group’s political party, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), were attacked by plain clothes security guards and Muslim Brotherhood supporters with sticks and chains. Journalists who were at the scene, covering a meeting between Muslim Brotherhood leaders and Hamas officials were also assaulted by the guards. A journalist working for independent newspaper Yom El Sabe’ was arrested and detained for several hours, and one cameraman sustained head injuries, and had his equipment confiscated.

A bus on fire during clashes in Cairo last week

The assault provoked outrage from Egypt’s liberal opposition and journalists alike. Opposition groups and political parties called for a “million people rally” to protest the attacks. In scenes reminiscent of the violence last December following Morsi’s decree giving him absolute powers, thousands of protesters last Friday stormed the Muslim Brotherhood’s offices in several cities, and four buses used to ferry government supporters to their Mottaqam headquarters were torched. Several journalists were injured during clashes that erupted between opposition protesters and Islamist supporters, and police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

On 24 March, Islamists staged a protest outside the Media Production City, demanding “a purge of the media” and protesting what they called “biased coverage of the violence at Moqattam.” Reham el Sahly, a presenter for independent channel Dream TV, was attacked by protesters, and her car windows were smashed. Protesters chanted slogans against TV talk show hosts working for privately owned media networks, accusing them of “constantly vilifying Islamists and deepening the polarisation of the country.” The protest was the second time Islamists have besieged the studios of privately owned satellite channels in the Media City in recent months, barring media workers from entering or leaving the complex. In December, Salafi protesters staged a week-long sit-in outside the Media City, demanding the dismissal of talk show hosts for attacking President Morsi and his Islamist supporters.

Last week, journalists also protested outside the Media Production City, demanding an end to attacks on journalists. Journalists have planned more protests later on this week, to demand authorities uphold press freedom. Diaa Rashwan, a leftist political analyst and newly elected Head of the Syndicate (replacing outgoing pro-Brotherhood Mamdouh El Wali) vowed to pursue charges against Mahmoud Ghozlan, the Islamist party’s spokesman, “for suggesting that journalists had incited the violence.” In a statement, Ghozlan said that the guards outside of the FJP offices were provoked by the activists and journalists, who taunted and insulted them. State-owned newspaper Al Ahram reported that another spokesman from the group said that “while the activists have a right to express themselves freely and protest peacefully, insults and sabotage were unacceptable.”

Meanwhile, President Morsi has issued stern warnings that his patience was wearing thin, and that “those using the media to incite violence would face punishment.” He has accused owners of private TV stations (many of whom are businessmen with close ties to the Mubarak-era regime) of using their networks to criticise and insult him. Two days after the clashes, while opening a conference on women’s rights at the presidential palace on Sunday, Morsi vowed to take “whatever measures were necessary to protect the nation and restore order.”

“Those derailing the democratic transition and spreading chaos will be held to account by law”, Morsi warned. He hinted that former regime officials — recently acquitted of corruption charges — were behind the recent violence, and promised that they would be “brought to justice.”

Khaled Dawoud, spokesman for the National Salvation Front (NSF), the main opposition bloc, told Reuters that he believes the warnings were “a prelude to suppressive measures that would be taken to silence critics of the Muslim Brotherhood.” While denying it was inciting violence, the NSF has in turn, accused the government of launching attacks on the media with the aim of “monopolising power and controlling the state.”

Lawsuits have been filed against several members of the media in recent days. TV talk show host Bassem Youssef has had charges brought against him for allegedly insulting President Morsi on his weekly political satire show El-Bernameg (The Programme), broadcast on privately-owned channel CBC. Similar charges were brought against Yousef in December, but they were dropped before the case reached court.

According to Gamal Eid, a human rights lawyer and activist, “the number of lawsuits filed by citizens against journalists under President Morsi’s rule was four times the number filed during the entire 30-year rule of toppled president Hosni Mubarak.” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) earlier this month issued a statement condemning the government’s repressive measures against journalists in Egypt and expressing concern about “the decline in freedom of information in the country”.  RSF cited the judicial investigation of prominent TV presenter Dina Abdel Fattah on charges of “promoting terrorism” as an example of the government’s repressive policies stifling free expression. “Gagging the media will only fuel instability”, the statement warned.

Fattah was released on bail of 5,000 Egyptian Pounds after being investigated by the Public Prosecutor for hosting members of the so-called “Black Bloc”on a show that she hosted on private satellite channel El Tahrir. The Black Bloc youths are members of a newly formed opposition movement described by the government as “a group of anarchists and vandals”. Fattah resigned from the channel in protest against censorship, after her programme was canceled by the network’s senior management. The prosecutor’s office said more than 200 complaints had been filed against her by private citizens. Members of the Shura Council (the Upper House of parliament) had also filed a lawsuit accusing Fattah’s programme of “inciting vandalism” and being a “threat to public order.”

Since August, several lawsuits have been filed against prominent talk show hosts and journalists but none have been convicted — leading many to speculate that the charges were meant to intimidate and silence critics of the regime. Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression award winner Ibrahim Eissa was accused by an Islamist lawyer of blasphemy, and defaming Islam after he mockingly said on his TV programme that “pickpockets would have their hand cut off according to Sharia, but those who steal billions from banks are allowed to get away with it.”

Television host Mahmoud Saad was summoned for questioning by the public prosecutor along with a guest on one of his programmes for allegedly insulting President Morsi on air. The guest, Dr. Manal Omar, said on Saad’s programme that the Islamist president was “suffering from psychological problems after serving jail time under ousted President Hosni Mubarak.”

In recent months, the government has also pursued defamation charges against journalists Abdel Haleem Qandil (Editor in Chief of Nasserist paper Al Arabi ) and Islam Afifi ( Editor-in-Chief of the private daily Al Dostour ) who have both been investigated for “insulting the president.” Hannan Youssef, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the local daily Al Messa has been fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds for libel. In January, columnist Gamal Fahmy was investigated by the Public Prosecutor for suggesting that journalist Hussein Abou Deif was killed for exposing the fact that President Morsi’s brother-in-law, who had been convicted in a bribery case, was released under a presidential pardon.

Rights lawyer and activist Hafez Abu Seada, who heads the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) has condemned the charges against journalists, saying they represent a serious threat to free expression in post-revolution Egypt. In a statement published by the EOHR , he said the increasing number of lawsuits filed against journalists and media figures was a method of intimidation used against journalists to stop them criticising the president. Journalists have meanwhile vowed to continue protesting to press for an end to censorship, systemic intimidation by the state and physical attacks against them.

State TV anchor Bothaina Kamel, who was investigated by TV lawyers in January for suggesting interference by the pro- Brotherhood Minister of Information in editorial content, told Index: “Journalists are no longer intimidated. There’s no going back to the old ways. The fear barrier is gone. We had a revolution for freedom and will continue to stand up against censorship and fight for free expression.”

Kamel also called for legislation to protect journalists against investigation and physical attacks. She also called for foreign aid to Egypt to rely on Morsi’s ability to follow through on promises to protect freedom and democracy. “Western donors cannot continue to back an undemocratic government that uses repressive means to stifle freedom of expression”, she said.

Mexico telecoms reform hits world’s richest man

March 28th, 2013

A new telecommunications reform that was presented in Mexico by the government of Enrique Peña Nieto has been heralded worldwide.  The reform bill seeks to amend the Mexican Constitution and will open the telephony and television industries. The changes had been recommended last year by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation  and Development, which said the lack of competition in the telecommunications sector cost Mexico $25 billion dollars a year and offered among the highest prices in the world to consumers.

The Mexican Congress’ lower house approved the law on Thursday March 21 and the Mexican Senate is expected to approve it in April.  The version approved opens radio, television and telecommunications to foreign investment.  The reform was presented to Congress in February, a feat reached by the Pact for Mexico, a multi-party front that seeks to introduce major reforms in the country. In the Mexican Congress, the bill was revised considerably by legislators. For instance, at the onset, the proposal would have allowed 100 per cent foreign investment in radio, television and telecommunications.  But after two weeks of congressional tinkering, the law was restricted. In the approved version of the bill, foreign investment in radio and television is now limited to 49 per cent, although it could be higher — if the foreign company is from a country that offers reciprocal treatment to Mexicans. Fixed line telephony and cellular phone is set at 100 percent. The bill will impact Carlos Slim, now owner of Telmex, a fixed line telephony company that controls most of the country’s fixed lines, and Telcel, the country’s largest cellular telephone company.

The multi-milllion dollar open, non-cable television spectrum in Mexico is controlled by two media giants, Televisa and Azteca Television, which have controlled open waves for several decades.

The bill also creates a new regulatory body that will be functioning in 2014.

Critics such as Ernesto Villanueva welcomed the bill’s recognition of community radio in Proseco Magazine, but worried about the future of such local media, because the law does not permit them to seek publicity.  The World Association of Community Radios, AMARC, urged the Mexican Congress to protect the rights of marginalised communities.

When asked his opinion about the reform, Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, according to Forbes, said he welcomed the reform which will improve broadband, telephone and television and radio industries in Mexico. Since the reform was made public, stock prices for America Movil, Slim’s company plummeted causing $6 billion dollars in losses.

Free speech takes a beating in Greece

March 25th, 2013

Christos Syllas looks at the threats to journalists and activists in crisis-stricken Greece, where a climate of terror prevails

(more…)

Why I would go to jail for my journalistic beliefs

March 22nd, 2013

“Journalism today is not about recording the facts. It ought to be a battle against barbarity and obscurity”, said Greek investigative journalist and award winner Kostas Vaxevanis at this week’s Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards. Read the rest of his compelling speech here

(more…)

Index responds to the Royal Charter

March 21st, 2013

“Index is against the introduction of a Royal Charter that determines the details of establishing a press regulator in the UK — the involvement of politicians undermines the fundamental principle that the press holds politicians to account. Politicians have now stepped in as ringmaster and our democracy is tarnished as a result.”

In spite of David Cameron’s claims, there can be no doubt that what has been established is statutory underpinning of the press regulator. This introduces a layer of political control that is extremely undesirable. On this sad day, Britain has abandoned a democratic principle.

But beyond that, the Royal Charter’s loose definition of a ‘relevant publisher’ as a ‘website containing news-related material’ means blogs could be regulated under this new law as well. This will undoubtedly have a chilling effect on everyday people’s web use.

Bloggers could find themselves subject to exemplary damages in court, due to the fact that they were not part of a regulator that was not intended for them in the first place. This mess of legislation has been thrown together with alarming haste: there’s little doubt we’ll repent for a while to come.”

Leveson fiasco: costs and other questions

March 20th, 2013

Two days after the publication of the all-party agreed Royal Charter on “self-regulation” of the press, there’s seems no further clarity on some issues of enormous concern. Apart from the statute required to “underpin” the regulator itself, and the question of who and who isn’t a “relevant news publisher”, issues of exemplary damages, costs and apologies have alarmed many in the media and beyond.

On BBC News yesterday, Private Eye editor Ian Hislop outlined his concerns about the new press regulator. Hislop, whose publication was not part of the Press Complaints Commission, said he was concerned that publications outside the regulator (and the debate still rages over who is and isn’t supposed to be inside the regulator) would face not only exemplary damages, but also possibly have to pay the costs of any case even if they won.

Clause NC27A of the Crime and Courts bill, which sets out the costs regime does state that the defendant must pay costs in any case, unless the judge believes the case could not possibly have been settled by the regulator’s arbitration wing – i.e. if this would have ended up in court anyway.

This is quite definitely “Leveson Compliant”, (see par 67 and 68 of the Executive Summary of Lord Justice Leveson’s report and is essentially punitive. One wonders would it pass the test of a “fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law”, as laid out in article of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is extremely likely that a case following this procedure will end up in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. And quite rightly so. It’s bizarre, unjust and coercive.

There are also concerns about the proposed regulator’s power to “direct” the placement of apologies.

Again, this is “Leveson compliant” — the Lord Justice himself stated “The power to direct the nature, extent and placement of apologies should lie with the Board”.

This is also really problematic, suggesting as it does that a Quango can determine what is and isn’t published in newspapers, and where. This may seem angel-on-pinhead stuff, but there is a world of difference between “direct” and “require”. While apologies may be desirable, it’s simply not safe to give an external power with state underpinning the power to tell editors what to put in papers. Forced publication is a sinister perversion of free expression, and has no place in the British press or anywhere else.