Free Speech Advocates on Edge Over Punitive Grenada Media Law

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The Parliament of Grenada, the Caribbean nation and largest island of the Grenadines, has passed a punitive social media measure that has drawn fire from free press proponents, The Guardian reported this week.

The new law carries one-year jail terms for violators who make "offensive" comments, or send tweets or emails on social media platforms and media Web sites, according to the Guardian article. Knowingly posting false information to cause "annoyance...insult...and ill will" also is prohibited by the new law.

A spokesperson for the International Press Institute voiced concern over the law's criminalizing matters that previously have been handled through civil remedies, and was fearful of the new law's impact on investigative journalism and freedom of speech.

Trio of Italian Journalists Jailed for Criminal Libel

Image via WikipediaTwo reporters for Il Centro, an Italian daily newspaper, and the paper's former editor, were convicted of criminal libel and jailed, according to the International Press Institute (IPI).

Walter Nerone and Claudio Lattanzio each received one-year jail terms, and former editor Luigi Vicinanza eight months in jail after a court in Chieti, Italy, found the three men defamed Franco La Civita, the former Mayor of  Sulmona, by writing in 2007 that he allegedly was being investigated concerning purported overseas bank accounts in his name. The court considered the allegations unfounded and further ordered the journalists to compensate La Civita 12,000 euros ($17,253).

Journalism organizations, including the Italian National Press Federation and the Journalists' Syndicate in Abruzzo,  were quick to condemn the "chilling effect" on free speech by the jailing of the reporters.

Oppressive Malawi Media Law Worries Journos

Image via WikipediaThe increasingly oppressive government of Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika, AfricaNews.com reports, includes a  recent crackdown on journalists.

Section 46 of Malawi's Penal Code empowers the minister of information and civic education  to prohibit the publication of, or importation of a publication he believes "would be contrary to the public interest." The draconian measure is to blame for the recent arrest of award-winning journalist Kondwani Kamiyala, who allegedly photographed authorities purportedly engaged in the brutal beating of an individual at a musical event.

The U.S. and Germany are among nations that have been critical of the harsh media law. The International Press Institute has also condemned the Malawi government's passage of the publication ban.  "TUOL" has low expectations regarding the Mutharika regime ever since the government, as reported by The Daily Mail January 28, criminalized flatulence, vowing to punish persistent offenders.

Each law in its own way prevents Malawians from airing their grievances.