Egypt to discuss penalties for media

Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulations will discuss the penalties which will be imposed on media organisations as part of the country’s media by-laws, the head of the department said yesterday.

Makram Mohamed Makram added that a meeting will be held and the head of Egypt’s National Press Authority (NPA), Karam Gabr, President of the Journalists Syndicate, Abdel Mohsen Salama, and representatives of the journalists syndicate will be in attendance to discuss the proposed penalties.

Speaking to Russia’s Sputnik news site, Makram said after an agreement is reached on the final list of penalties, the list will be submitted to the State Council for review.

A petition was garnered much support in Egypt when a list of proposed penalties was revealed. They included penalties ranging from blocking websites, suspending broadcasts and imposing hefty fines ranging from 10,000-500,000 Egyptian pounds ($557-$27,166).

Human rights organisations said the proposed laws aim to extend censorship and restrictions on newspapers and media outlets.

It was revealed in November that Egypt’s state-run Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) is considering the imposition of a new list of penalties for libel, defamation, inciting violence or publishing and disseminating rumours or anonymously sourced news.

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