Laws affecting journalists in other nations

A broader picture shows that free press has its limits.

Alan Shadrake was jailed by Singapore for his book. Mohd Fyrol / AFP

ABU DHABI // The Committee to Protect Journalists says 221 journalists were imprisoned last year for their work.

None were jailed in the UAE, although many are behind bars in other Middle East countries.

Most jailings were in countries such as China, Eritrea, Iran and Myanmar, which are often criticised for their human rights records and for suppressing freedom of speech.

But even in relatively open democracies, concerns are regularly raised about the restrictions that journalists face, with many reporters falling foul of laws that punish criticism of senior figures.

Japan

The government of Shinzo Abe has faced criticism over a law passed in late 2013 aimed at preventing government officials from leaking secrets to the media.

The bill could lead to 10-year prison terms for those who pass on official secrets, while journalists in possession of such material could be jailed for five years.

The Japanese government was also criticised for allegedly trying to massage coverage of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, with journalists said to have been banned from reporting on some protests.

Singapore

A British author, Alan Shadrake, served five and a half weeks in jail in Singapore in 2011 over a book he wrote, Once A Jolly Hangman.

In the book, Shadrake was critical of alleged bias in the city state’s justice system.

He was convicted of contempt of court for scandalising the court.

The case sparked criticism from international observers, among them Human Rights Watch.

South Korea

Unfavourable coverage of the leaders of the country can cause problems for journalists.

A Japanese reporter based in Seoul recently went on trial for defaming South Korean president Park Geun-hye, after reporting rumours about her activities on the day a ship sank with the loss of hundreds of lives. The Japanese government raised concerns over the arrest with the South Korean administration, and media freedom group Reporters Without Borders criticised the move to put the reporter on trial.

Journalists have to show such reports on individuals are in the public interest and can be punished for libel even if they are true.

Thailand

Criticism of the country’s king or other royal family members can lead to a prison sentence of between three and 15 years through the crime of lese majeste, which has been applied to journalists.

Analysts say the law is often used as a tool to silence political opponents or critics.

A BBC correspondent, Jonathan Head, is among those to have been accused of lese majeste, although he was not imprisoned and still reports from Thailand.

United Kingdom

While typically not seen as a press freedom issue, the UK authorities have in recent years energetically prosecuted tabloid journalists who have hacked phones, causing several to be jailed.

Stephen Glover, a UK media commentator, wrote in 2013 that some other industries faced much less scrutiny from the authorities, and said that bankers had “so far paid no penalty at all for generally more serious crimes”.

There are few sacred cows for the UK media, with even the country’s royal family coming in for ridicule and criticism.

However, Buckingham Palace recently refused the BBC permission to use archive footage of the royals, effectively blocking the broadcast of a documentary that described the public relations operation surrounding the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

United States

According to Reporters Without Borders, while George W Bush was president (2001-2009), “journalists were harassed and even imprisoned” for not revealing sources or giving up their files to government and security officials.

Under Barack Obama there has been “little improvement”.

In mid-2013, it was revealed that the justice department had obtained the phone records of Associated Press journalists in an investigation into how classified information about a failed terrorist plot had been revealed.