(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – On 26 January 1998, the Jordanian Supreme Court decided to revoke the May 1997 amendments to the 1993 Press and Publications Law. The Court decided that the May 1997 Law was unconstitutional because it was enforced without the ratification of the Jordanian Parliament. On 28 January, ARTICLE 19 pledged to continue supporting […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – On 26 January 1998, the Jordanian Supreme Court decided
to revoke the May 1997 amendments to the 1993 Press and Publications Law.
The Court decided that the May 1997 Law was unconstitutional because it was
enforced without the ratification of the Jordanian Parliament. On 28
January, ARTICLE 19 pledged to continue supporting Jordanian journalists’
demands for a more democratic press framework, while warmly welcoming the
Jordanian court’s decision. Sa=EFd Essoulami, Head of the Middle East
Programme, said that “this outcome is a tribute to the efforts of Jordan’s
press groups, lawyers and human rights activists, as well as to the
independence of the Jordanian judiciary. The government must now annul all
decisions taken against journalists on the basis of the 1997 law, and allow
the 13 newspapers that were effectively banned on the basis of the
amendments to reopen.” He also stated that “ARTICLE 19 will continue to
support the demands of non-governmental organisations to be involved in
drafting a new press law which guarantees fundamental rights to freedom of
expression and access to information, as demanded by Jordan’s international
human rights obligations and own Constitution.”
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
consideration recommendations made in Blaming the Press: Jordan’s
Democratization Process in Crisis (ARTICLE 19, October 1997)
held
in Jordan in October 1997, which include the following: that the
government’s power to suspend/ban newspapers be abolished; that the
Department of Press and Publications be stripped of its censorship
functions; that the government divest itself of its monopoly over radio and
television and its ownership of the print media; that the Penal Code
provisions on defamation, innuendo and affront, and the Press and
Publications Law provisions concerning reputation and dignity be repealed;
that any registration scheme should be limited to purely administrative
details and overseen by an independent administrative body whose decisions
are subject to judicial review; and that no minimum capital requirement
should have to be met to establish a newspaper, either for weeklies or
dailies or other press organs
Appeals To
His Majesty King Hussein bin Talal
King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
The Royal Palace
Amman
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Fax: +962 6 634 755
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
