Proposed Egyptian constitution to ‘limit’ media freedom
Promises of increased media freedoms following President Mubarak’s fall are at risk with Egypt’s proposed constitution up for vote on 15 December, says IMS’ Michael Irving Jensen.
This week a young Egyptian photo journalist from the newspaper Al-Fagr died after having been shot while photographing a demonstration in Cairo. Despite such reprisals, the Egyptian opposition media is more vocal and critical than ever, says Michael Irving Jensen, head of International Media Support’s (IMS) work in the Middle East, who recently returned from Cairo.
The past few weeks private TV channels, such as Cairo-based Dream TV, have been shut down for days following what authorities term “administrative difficulties”. Salafi Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a former presidential candidate, this week called for a “cleansing of certain talk show hosts in the media” who oppose President Morsi and the proposed constitution.
Fears of Mubarak-like conditions
“The proposed constitution restricts press freedom with vague wordings, making it possible for the authorities to imprison journalists for defamation or for insulting the prophet,” says Michael Irving Jensen.
“Media outlets can be shut down if their content is thought to present “a threat to national security”. Beyond this, the so-called National Press and Media Association is established to manage the state owned media. Many journalists fear that this new institution will be dominated by members of only one party, thus leading to conditions reminiscent of those during Mubarak’s rule,” says Michael Irving Jensen.
“To support democratisation in the country and to contribute to a peaceful process, citizens need access to information in independent media, which are free to report without interference from the authorities,” says Michael Irving Jensen.
Media strike in protest
A number of Egyptian TV channels and newspapers went on a one-day strike in early December in protest over the proposed constitution’s effects on the media.
The strike was also a show of support to the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate’s Executive Council, which withdrew its representatives from the Constituent Assembly in mid-November after its recommendations and suggestions to the drafting of the constitution were ignored by the assembly.
A ‘loophole’ for shutting down media
According to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the proposed constitution fails to address the journalist community’s concerns, and although it broadly states that “freedom of thought and opinion shall be guaranteed”, several articles are in contradiction to that broad principle.
Also, the constitution allows courts to shut down media outlets if a judicial review finds the outlet in violation of “respecting the sanctity of the private lives of citizens and the requirements of national security.” According to CPJ, this may be considered a loophole for controlling or shutting down media outlets which are not favouring the Morsi-led government.
One of the perceived positive changes brought on by the proposed constitution, according to CPJ, is that publishers are no longer required to obtain a publishing permit from the National Media Council. Under the proposed constitution, a notification of publication to the authorities will suffice.
International Media Support has been working with independent Egyptian media and supported the process of improving the country’s media laws since 2011.
