KUWAIT CITY — Pushing for more press freedom in the Gulf countries, participants of a conference on mass communications law here recently said they would establish a watchdog to monitor violence against journalists.
“Article 8 of the Ministry of Information System for Publication and Publishing states clearly that the freedom of expression is granted to the media, but in accordance with Shariah and regulation conditions,” said Saudi lawyer Omar Al-Saab, who added that although Saudi newspapers are financially independent of the government they tend to submit in one way or another to censorship.
Mohammed Al-Jasem, a well-known Kuwaiti lawyer and former editor-in-chief of Al-Watan newspaper of Kuwait, sponsored the conference through the Meezan Kuwaiti legal advisory center he founded. IREX, an independent American organization that established the Mena (Middle East/North Africa) Media program in 2003, co-sponsored the event.
Conference organizers invited journalists as well as lawyers and law professors from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen, the US, the UK and France to share their experiences in frank discussions about ways to overcome strict official censorship from their governments and the role law can play in this struggle.
Bareaa Al-Zubaidi, a columnist with Al-Watan newspaper of Saudi Arabia, referred to three Saudis who were investigated and prosecuted for their writings: Rabah Al-Quwayi, Hamza Al-Meziani and Abdullah bin Bakhit.
“Unfortunately the Human Rights Commission is not doing anything at all in such cases,” said Al-Zubaidi, referring to the government-run human rights organization that was formed last year.
Bahraini reporter Mohammed Al-Sawad said that since 2004, the number of court cases against journalists in his country had increased from four to 11 in 2006. He said that in the first five months of this year 11 cases have been filed.
“Most cases against reporters are filed on complaints from police and high officials in the government,” said Al-Sawad, who added that the government’s regulations on advertising is sometimes used to financially strike out at newspapers that do not tow the official line on sensitive issues.
In Yemen, the situation is slightly different, according to Abdul Karim Al-Khaiwani, the former editor-in-chief of Shoura newspaper who was fired and spent seven months in prison for allegedly lending his support to an outspoken Zaidi religious leader. Ironically, Al-Khaiwani said the Yemeni press has more freedom to criticize the government than its neighbors.
Al-Khaiwani said after his trouble with the government his newspaper was temporarily shut down. He claims that today the paper is run by the Yemeni government and that a former janitor of the daily was promoted as a consultant.
Tawakul Kurman, the head of the group Women Reporters Without Chains, said that while Saudi journalists seek justice away from court and demand that their cases be looked at by a special committee at the Ministry of Information and Culture, Yemenis demand the very opposite.
“Our real problem is with the Ministry of Information,” she said. “We are protesting and demanding that instead of the biased ministry we have, a higher independent commission be formed to protect our rights.”
