Cairo: 28 November 2018
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information released today a report, entitled “Roger that…will not do! About the quasi-military (Sanctions Regulations) of the Supreme Media Regulatory Council”, on the draft list of sanctions on media violations. The report includes a legal critique of the disastrous articles of the regulation which was issued by the Complaints Committee of the “Supreme Media Regulatory Council (SMRC)” last week.
The regulation, which is composed of 30 articles most of which involve arbitrary and unfair sanctions that is similar to the military sanctions, establishes a list of irregularities that have been drafted in broad terms and loose phrases such as; using words like “scurrilous remarks, unintelligible remarks, the national fabric, and (hurts the feelings of citizens)” and others. These phrases and words can be easily interpreted against journalists, media professionals or any of the critics that the SMRC wishes to penalize in addition to punishing any of the media outlets.
Moreover, this regulation- based on its articles- grabs the right from both the Journalists and Media Professional Syndicates in imposing penalties on violators, while the SMRC’s punitive role is limited only to the newspapers and TV channels’ boards; as it is the unions/syndicates’ prerogative to penalize journalists or media professionals.
ANHRI believes that this regulation aims at not only punishing media professionals and different media outlets that violate the law- despite involving unfair articles; rather, it aims at turning media workers and outlets in Egypt into administrative officials and offices that follow the council’s order and implement its instructions, turning a blind eye to the Constitution’s articles which explicitly stipulate respect for freedom of the press and freedom of expression as if the constitution is a minor object or an icon that is hanged on the wall.
Despite the regression that has occurred and the repudiation that some of SMRC’s members have showed regarding this quasi-military draft list, ANHRI raises the alarm at the growing role of this regulatory body and reveals its anti-freedom vision towards the freedom of independent media and journalism in Egypt in a way that make the situation worse and darker. Not only are citizens deprived from having an independent and professional journalism either by resorting to censorship and ban, but also whoever flees from such censorship and ban circles are penalized upon strict sanctions in this regulations.
You can check the report through the following link:
