Special Report on Press Freedom

A new report on press freedom (the lack of) is out. It covers censorship, self-censorship, targeting of journalists and the legal situation that will affect the election. Quote:

According to the new law covering political activity, anyone who publishes defamatory information on elections, referendums or any of the candidates could face imprisonment of no less than six months and a fine that ranges between US $173 and $865.Many fear this will have a major impact on reporting for the presidential election in September and the legislative ballot in November.

“One of the roles of the press is to expose corruption and misdemeanours,” Gamal Eid, Director of the Arab Human Rights Information Network, said. "This law will definitely affect the press when covering elections, especially because there is no legal definition of what constitutes defamation," he explained.