By IANS,
Damascus : Syria has begun work on a legislation that could lead to media freedom.
A special committee set up in May to draft a law on the country’s media has finished its work, a committee member told RIA Novosti news agency.
If adopted, the law would make Syria the fourth country in the region after Iraq, Tunisia and Egypt to embrace media freedom.
Until now, a journalist in Syria could be jailed if what he wrote was viewed by censors as undermining people’s morale.
“The new law guarantees media freedom. Its second article states that the media enjoys ‘independence and freedom’,” a source said.
The law will set up a special court to deal with all cases related to media freedom and responsibility.
The media law is part of political reforms announced by the Syrian authorities after protests broke out in the south of the country in early March and later spread to other regions.
Human rights groups say more than 1,350 protestors have been killed by security forces since the uprising began.
Official reports, which blame “armed terrorists” for the violence, have put the toll at 340 police and servicemen.