The press and freedom
By
Salama A Salama
The relationship between the press and power in the Arab world remains ambiguous. Every Arab state, it sometimes seems, suffers from the employ of random yardsticks and the subsequent loss of direction in trying to secure a balance between freedom of expression and the restrictions imposed by the state, evidence of which can be seen most clearly in laws regulating publishing and the red lines governments lay down which cannot be crossed.
Morocco, where a journalist was recently given a four-year jail term when convicted of publishing an article that insulted the king, exemplifies the problems faced in Arab countries. In a second case the managing editor of the Moroccan newspaper Al- Isbou' was arrested and prosecuted for publishing a statement by one of the groups which claimed responsibility for the Casablanca bombings.
I recently read in the papers that the editor-in- chief of the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Watan is being sued. Not a day passes without journalists being tried and imprisoned in one Arab country or another.
A few months ago a Yemeni court sentenced a journalist to flogging. Throughout the Arab world journalists are besieged by laws which fail to differentiate between constructive criticism, which benefits society and serves to ensure freedom of expression and respects human rights, and cases of libel and slander. At the same time endless conferences are held in Arab capitals to discuss the media and freedom, the press and its role.
Which brings us to the imprisonment of two Egyptian colleagues, Mustafa Bakri, the editor-in-chief of El-Isbou', and his brother Mahmoud. Their arrest, reminiscent of terrifying stories of dawn visitors, is a powerful blow to Egyptian journalism's attempts, over the past few years, to become a model of freedom in the Arab world's largest country.
When I was recently in Rabat one of the first questions I was asked pertained to this case. The Moroccan journalist questioning me noted that whatever takes place in Egypt serves as a benchmark for other Arab countries where repressive measures against any opposing view, criticism or the uncovering of scandals and corruption are on the increase. How Egypt deals with the media provides a model for other Arab countries.
Nobody is calling for journalism or journalists to be exempted from the rule of law. But surely it is time to move away from the automatic imprisonment of those accused of publication offences and towards a more measured set of penalties, both financial and involving the confiscation of offending publications. Such, after all, is the nature of punishment applied in democratic countries the world over which respect human rights.
In Egypt we do not need to wait for international pressure before we begin to pursue the road to democracy and respect of freedoms. Jordan is ahead of us now it has repealed legislation citing custodial sentences as a penalty for publishing offences.
A similar move in Egypt would not be opposed except, perhaps, by the enemies of freedom, those who oppose democracy, and those who benefit from corruption. Sadly, these number not a few.
