KUWAIT: Lawmakers are examining a new media law approved by the cabinet in a meeting last Monday, and several MPs have insisted that it will be rejected "should it be meant to turn our society into a police state". The draft law is expected to reach the parliament next week, where it will first be studied by the educational committee before being debated by lawmakers, who can then either approve or reject it.
Head of the panel Mishery Al-Hosaini commented after reviewing the bill that it can "help control chaos when news websites are licensed, and technically the penalties can only affect the offenders". Fellow committee members Khalid Al- Shulaimi and Khalil Abdullah further indicated in their statements to Al-Rai daily that the law could help "create balance between the freedom of opinion and [the need for] protecting the society", and recognized the fact that the bill stipulates a jail sentence only in cases where religious figures are offended.
According to the draft law, as published by many newspapers in the past couple of days, a person found guilty of offending God Almighty, the Holy Quran, the Holy Prophets, as well as companions and wives of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) will be sentenced to 10 years in prison. The law stipulates fines of between 50,000 and 200,000 Kuwaiti Dinars for those found guilty of criticizing HH the Amir or HH the Crown Prince, and fines of between KD10,000 and KD200,000 for those found guilty of offending members of the judiciary, destabilizing the economy, instigating hate and sectarianism or undermining national unity.
The law also stipulates fines ranging between KD10,000 and KD100,000 for a variety of offenses, including rebelling against the ruling system, offending the constitution or the flags of Kuwait and its sister Gulf states, divulging information from secret documents or meetings, as well as public indecency. The regulations apply to opinions expressed on printed or broadcasted material, as well as to those published online. Therefore, the term 'unified media law' was chosen by the government. It includes new regulations based on which news websites must first be licensed before they can start broadcasting. And after that, they must adhere to the ministry's laws.
Since it was announced, the bill has drawn wide-scale criticism from supporters of public freedom in Kuwait - most notably from the press, with two liberal dailies saying that it "suffocates freedoms" and "marks the end of media freedom". "It appears that the government decided to move the battle over freedom to the court, with fines that surely will send many potential violators to jail when they fail to pay up", Al-Qabas daily reported yesterday, quoting sources who did not wish to be named. Meanwhile, Al-Jarida daily said the government's project introduces "unprecedented penalties" which could eventually lead to Kuwait's media sector becoming "100 percent official".
The paper also criticized a stipulation in the draft law which grants the Information Ministry the right to "suspend" material prior to its publication. "This is a clear way to circumvent the jurisprudence which has the sole right to suspend publications", Al- Jarida wrote.
© Kuwait Times 2013
