United Arab Emirates
New law would give freedom to journalistsPosted Feb 15 2009
Criticism of a draft media law in the United Arab Emirates is unjustified because the regulations promise to lift earlier restrictions and provide new freedoms to journalists, the National Media Council’s director said.
Director General Ibrahim Al Abed told Khaleej Times on Feb. 9 that the new law not only scraps jail terms for journalists, but also allows them to withhold confidential sources.
Al Abed said there is an article in the draft law that restricts dissemination of news that is misleading to the public and can harm the national economy.
“Here, we are talking specifically about misleading news,” Al Abed said. “How do we evaluate that? If there will be a problem, the court will decide and this applies to everything. I can’t take a decision. I can refer it to the court or he (the complainant) can refer it to the court as a normal citizen. So I can't take any action or decision unless somebody comes and complains.”
He said at least two main points have been taken into consideration in the draft. First, journalists and people working in the media should not be obliged to disclose their sources. Second, government departments have to facilitate and provide information and respond positively to the queries of journalists, he said.
More information
- The Khaleej Times