UPDATE: Press Freedom in Burundi Staggered by Enactment of Repressive Media Law

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Proclaiming that the news media will be professionalized and that his war-torn nation will benefit from journalists being prohibited from inciting violence, Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza this week put into effect a repressive media law passed by the National Assembly last April (see "TUOL" post 4/5/13), according to reports by BBC News and BloombergBusinessWeek.com.

The new measure supplants a 2003 law and among its provisions, mandates journalists, irrespective of their professional experience, possess a university degree, compels reporters to disclose their confidential sources, bars reporting on issues, including public safety, national security, morality and the national economy, and subjects offenders to fines ranging from $2,000 to $6,000 and criminal penalties of up to a maximum life imprisonment.

Free press advocates, including New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists("CPJ") and Human Rights Watch ("HRW"), and France-based Reporters Without Borders ("RWB") all condemned the new law as a major setback to press freedom. Burundi is recovering from the aftermath of a decade-long civil war sparked by the assassination of its first democratically elected president that claimed more than 300,000 lives.

Nkurunziza, an insurgent leader during the civil war, was elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2010, though opposition leaders boycotted the most recent election. According to the BBC News report, the African nation's National Communication Council ("NCC") on May 31 imposed a one-month ban on an online forum of the Iwacu newspaper because the NCC claimed readers critical comments ran afoul of the law by endangering national unity.

"This is a black day for freedom on information in Burundi," proclaimed the RWB Web site.

Burundi Cracks Down on Press Freedom

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The landlocked Central African nation of  Burundi, recently emerged from a decade-long civil war, took a step backward this week when the National Assembly passed a media law that the country's journalism union condemned as an unconstitutional assault on press freedom.

Reuters news service reports the bill, which requires senate approval before President Pierre Nkunrunziza can sign it into law, subjects offending journalists to fines ranging from $2,000 to $6,000 and bars the media from reporting about public safety, national defense or the plunging national currency that lost 14 percent against the U.S. dollar last year. New York-based Human Rights Watch cautioned that the government has been attempting to stifle press criticism of violence perpetrated by the current regime.

Jordan Press Law Stifles Electronic Media

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Arab League co-founder Jordan has free press advocates on edge over an amendment to its Press and Publications Law that requires government licensure of electronic publications, the Daily Star reported this week.

The constitutional monarchy headed by King Abdullah authorizes the culture ministry to block unlicensed Web sites without having to secure a court order, according to Human Rights Watch. The new law presents a nebulous definition of electronic publication, but clearly articulates that Web site owners will be deemed responsible for content posted on their sites and that site users' comments will be subject to government-imposed restrictions.

The Star article cites an Associated Press estimate that roughly 400 Jordanian Web sites will be affected by the new law. In contrast, Section 230 (c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act in the U.S. shields Internet Service Providers from liability for content from third parties.  Jordan's Press and Publications Law already criminalizes defamation, encompassing governmental and religious entities, as well as people.

Facebook in Lebanon: From Poked to Pokey

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The Los Angeles Times reports that the recent arrests of four persons in Lebanon has drawn the attention of the U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW).

According to the report, the individuals were accused of libel, defamation and insulting the president based on missives that appeared on the Facebook social networking site. An existing law requires Lebanon's general prosecutor to pursue all claims of defamation against the president or any "sister state" of Lebanon, irrespective of whether a specific plaintiff is involved.

In a press release, HRW expressed concern that the recent arrests could signal a clamping down on freedom of expression in Lebanon.