The law follows instructions issued to that effect last year by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The FNC discussed the law during Tuesday’s session, presided over by Speaker Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair and attended by a large number of government officials, including Minister of Labour Saqr Ghobash Saeed Ghobash, who is also chairman of the National Media Council. “The draft law of media activities does not stipulate imposing punishments, depriving one’s freedom, such as imprisonment or detention,” saidSaqr Ghobash.
The law only stipulates punishments such as closure, imposition of financial fine and compensation to the one/body that incurred damage, he pointed out, adding that the law, after amendments, called for slapping of a fine not less than Dh500,000, and not more than Dh 5,000,000 on whoever hit out at the President, Vice-President, members of the Supreme Council, Crown Princes, Deputy Rulers in any of the licensed media and publications in the country.
The law levies fine of not less than Dh100,000 and not more than Dh500,000 against whoever commits the following acts: newspapers or the rest of media, or the employees of the same receiving aid or donation, or similar benefits from foreign entity without the permission of the Council; repeating publishing or launching press campaigns with bad faith, and after being warned by the Council, in a way that demerit the reputation of the country, or its foreign relations and contacts, or violates its public order, or distort its national identity; publishing news that mislead the public opinion, in a way that harm the national economy of the country; carrying false news with knowledge; violating the conditions and restrictions stipulated for practising media activities governing the licence in regard.
Mohammad Yousef, chief of the Journalists Association in Dubai, said,“The draft will not be instead of the current law of publications for the year 1980 as the draft is not clear enough and it (the draft) mixes among the duties of journalism and the terms of licensing the media activities.”
Sami Al Rayami, Editor-in-Chief of Dubai-based Al Emarat Al Youm newspaper, said that it was not useful for the country, government and the society that it put the media activities under the scanner to slap penalties like closure of newspapers or threatening the future of the journalists.
