Just a week or so ago the Jordanian interior minister, Nayef al-Qadi, launched an attack on segments of the Jordanian media for “unbalanced reporting” and accused some of being agents on the payroll of foreign powers (see post below).
The media has come under official scrutiny lately for a number of issues, including its coverage of the Aqaba port strike, the government’s alleged revoking of Palestinian citizenship, and its sharp criticism of the performance of the current parliament, among others. But although the minister lambasted some segments of the media, he nevertheless qualified his comments by stating that the government had no intention of restricting freedom of expression.
But it seems the media doesn’t believe him. This week the press has been rife with speculation that the government is seeking to once again redraft articles of the press and publications law. And judging by the reaction of the Jordan Press Association’s president (though not regarded for being a fierce proponent of press freedom), it does not appear that any future amendments are aimed at easing restrictions. It is difficult to say exactly what’s going on here. It could be that the minister's comments and the subsequent ‘leaks’ concerning a possible revisit of the press laws are merely a tactic to keep the media in line. Who knows?
The press and publications law itself has been the subject of heated debate for many years as activists have lobbied to repeal clauses in the 1998 law allowing for the imprisonment of journalists. Finally in March 2007, the clauses were abolished but only after a fierce battle with the lower house which wanted to retain them and instead settled for an increase in fines of up to $40,000 for violations relating to defaming religion, offending religious prophets, inciting sectarian strife or racism, slandering individuals, and spreading false information or rumours.
The changes signified a positive step forward but were hardly ground breaking. The law still provides the government with wide discretionary powers to withdraw licenses and close down publications/broadcast media, while journalists and writers can still face imprisonment under the penal code. All of these factors serve to keep editors in line and engender self-censorship among journalists.
Recent incidents documented by Reporters Without Borders (Jordan ranks 128 out of 173 countries in the press freedom index) include:
6 July 2009 - Government closes Amman bureaux of two Iranian satellite TV stations
3 November 2008 - Newspaper editor freed on bail after being held for five days by state security court
11 October 2007 - Ex-legislator gets two years in prison for online criticism of government corruption
Also, in June this year a court sentenced poet Islam Salhan to one year in prison and a $15,000 fine on charges of defaming Islam.
So what possible changes to the law could be on the government’s agenda? We’ll have to wait and see …
