(Photo by Hassan Ibrahim\DNE File)
The Press Syndicate welcomed what it interpreted as “positive trends” during discussions in the Constituent Assembly’s Freedoms Committee.
The syndicate’s council, which released a statement on Sunday, said that it was encouraged by progress in the Constituent Assembly tasked with amending the suspended constitution in dealing with the freedom and independence of the press, publishing and expression of opinion.
The syndicate stressed the importance of upholding rights “fought for by journalists throughout the years” including the abolition of imprisonment in cases relating to publication, and the right to publish newspapers after proper notification.
It also advocated the unacceptability of censoring newspapers and the media, or suspending or closing media outlets, and confirmed the importance of “ensuring that journalists and media professionals work in freedom and safety and the right to obtain information from original sources.”
The syndicate council said it had instructed its head and representative in the assembly Diaa Rashwan to uphold the proposals put forth by the syndicate.
As the Press Syndicate pointed out in Sunday’s statement, it had heavily criticised the Council of Legal Experts, consisting of ten judges and academics, for ignoring their proposals before submitting its draft to interim president Adly Mansour.
Those proposals included amending articles banning the confiscation of newspapers and striking the imprisonment in related cases.
