The cabinet approved the draft law organising press and media affairs during its Monday meeting and referred it to the State Council to then be referred to parliament for approval, according to an official statement issued by Cabinet on Monday.
“The cabinet approved the press and media draft law and it will be referred for a final revision next Sunday as a prelude to sending it to the parliament,” the statement read.
The press and media draft law stipulates that three institutions will be established to organise the work of the press and media in Egypt. These institutions are the Supreme Council of Media, the National Press Organisation and the National Media Organisation
The establishment of the three aforementioned organisations will replace the existence of the current Supreme Press Council, according to media statements from Planning Minister Ashraf Al Araby following the cabinet’s approval.
The minister asserted that the draft law gained approval from most entities that participated in framing it after carrying out a societal dialogue about it
Al-Araby said that the minister of justice and the cabinet’s Legal Affairs Department have been assigned to amend articles of the penal code. This is in a bid to implement Article 71 of the Constitution which prohibits censorship of the press and media as well as imprisonment for publishing cases.
