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Breaking The Chains
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Arab World and Iran -Press Freedom Report
3rd May 2007
Across the Middle East today the people of Arab countries and Iran face the future with deep uncertainty. In many countries they struggle to embrace the potential benefits that come with economic and social development. They witness how, in many other regions, incremental increases in the quality of life are emerging as the global economy drives social, economic and political change – including democratic pluralism and media freedom.
But that is not happening in the Middle East where societies are trapped in old-fashioned political structures, people are denied basic liberties, including freedom of speech, and where legal obstacles to open and transparent government hinder the march of progress and reform.
Even worse, extremist threats, political intimidation and political conflict have created a dangerous environment for all journalists in the region.
The global crisis of violence against journalists is most intense in this region. Unprecedented levels of killings of journalists and media staff reached a peak in 2006 with 155 deaths. On December 23, for the first time, the United Nations issued a statement condemning targeting of journalists and calling for prosecutions of their killers.
Seeking to silence moderate opinion, radicals attack reporters everyday. In many Middle Eastern countries, conflicts and internal political battles have become useful smokescreens for governments trying to crackdown on journalists. State of Emergency or the country’s security, are standard alibis to justify the jailing of media workers.
All of this adds to the woes of a region that is desperate for peace, stability and democratic reform. But democracy will not come to the Middle East nor economic prosperity unless the people become more directly involved in the process of change. That means more open government, more pluralism in politics and the press, and more engagement in the public information space by citizens at all levels.
To achieve that will not be easy, but a start can be made by repealing all of the bad laws highlighted in this report. Writing about politics, social, religious, or economic issues, in a tense global environment requires sensitive and careful handling, it does not imply muzzling public debate. One key demand is to eliminate imprisonment as a radical sanction used to intimidate journalists and to silence independent media. In a 2003-42 resolution, the United Nations High Commission for Human rights “Calls upon States to refrain from the use of imprisonment or the imposition of fines for offences relating to the media which are disproportionate to the gravity of the offence and which violate international human rights law.” It is time to go further. This report urges a general decriminalisation of press offences and appeal against arrest, disproportionate fines, kidnappings and torture of media employees and employers. Breaking the Chains is a joint initiative of the International Federation of Journalists and the Federation of Arab Journalists. The campaign launched through this report reflects an unprecedented expression of unity from within journalism throughout the Arab World and Iran. This report lists the main legal obstacles to freedom of speech in the Arab World and Iran. It also records recent cases of sentenced and jailed journalists. It is not exhaustive. We mention cases of journalists being arrested illegally for few hours to few days, or those unlawfully held in prolonged pre-trial detention. These cases give a flavour of the conditions journalists work in. Together with legal assaults based upon bad law they create an intolerable atmosphere of intimidation and fear that currently accompanies the exercise of journalism through the region.
It is time for change. Journalism and free expression depends upon it, but just as important, without urgent and lasting reform and the creation of open societies across the region from the Maghreb to the Persian Gulf millions of people will continue to be denied a peaceful and prosperous future.
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