Lebanese Ministry of Information
Caretaker Minister of Information, Ziad Al-Makary, refused, in an interview with “Voice of Lebanon” Radio Channel, that journalists be imprisoned no matter the circumstances, considering the judiciary related to the media law as being old and trial matters unclear.
He referred to “working on a new media law emanating from the existing law within the Administration and Justice Parliamentary Committee, in terms of abolishing the Publications Court, and considering media cases by the ordinary law, with an emphasis on non-imprisonment, regardless of felonies, and by replacing imprisonment with a fine, which removes ambiguities.”
He added, “The new amended law differentiates between publishing through social networking sites and the virtual digital presence of media institutions with an administrative structure on these sites.”
Makary emphasized the “ineffectiveness of the complaints filed by the partisan authorities,” saying, “I do not see defamation and slander in Dima Sadek’s tweet,” referring to “the positive amendments to the law, which note the rapid technological advancement in cooperation with UNESCO.”
He believed that “there is no perfect law,” announcing his intention to “cooperate with the parliamentary blocs to endorse this law and implement it in order for Lebanon to remain a country of freedoms and to protect journalists.”
NNA
