AFGHANISTAN In 2002 the Afghan interim authority, led by President Hamid Karzai, introduced a new press law that was supposed to guarantee press freedom for independent media. During the ceremony at which he signed the bill into law, Karzai himself claimed that under the new law journalists would be free to criticize his government without fear of reproach.
As a recent case illustrates however, insult laws still survive in some form in Afghanistan. On June 17th of this year, Mirhassan Mahdawi and Ali Payam Sistany of the weekly newspaper "Aftab" were arrested for "defaming Islam", a crime under the Afghan Press Law. Mahdawi, the article’s author and a notorious reformist, criticized public figures in Afghanistan and the role of Islam in Afghani society. In the same article he also advocated a shift to a more secular government.
President Karzai did not denounce the journalists for their depiction of any administrative official or specific government policy, but rather condemned the article as an insult to Islam. Karzai has stated that any criticism of Islam is an affront to the Afghan people and a violation of their beliefs. Press freedom, Karzai claims, does not protect these types of statements from government censorship. On 25 June, Mahdawi and Sistany were released from prison but are currently awaiting trial for blasphemy.
CHILE In Latin American countries insult laws are known as "desacato" laws, which means contempt or disrespect. Stemming from similar, draconian provisions in Spanish law, (which were partially repealed in 1995), these laws exist in over 18 Latin American and Caribbean states. In Chile, the "desacato" laws are especially repressive and are used more frequently than any other country in the region, according to Human Rights Watch. Despite having repealed sections of the 1958 Security Act which criminalized "contempt of authority", Chilean public figures are still utilizing other laws to protect them from public criticism.
As the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported in January 2003, authorities invoked Article 263 of the Penal Code to convict Eduardo Yez, a television commentator, of "disrespect". During a televised debate in November 2001, Yez criticized the Chilean judiciary for failing to reimburse a woman who was falsely imprisoned. He described the officials as "immoral, cowardly, and corrupt". For these statements, which the presiding judge deemed "degrading and dishonoring", Yez was given a two month suspended prison sentence and a fine of approximately US$ 460.
On April 4, 2003, Yez’s conviction was overturned. Although the appellate court concluded his comments might be "excessive, vulgar, or ignorant", they did not find the statements to be criminal. Currently there are calls to amend those provisions of the Penal Code that create criminal penalties for insulting a public official.
CROATIA For years, Croatian media professionals were assaulted by charges of libel and defamation from the country’s top officials. According to Ronald Koven of the World Press Freedom Committee, former President Franjo Tudjman had approximately 2,000 libel cases pending against the press at one time. Since Tudjman’s death in December 1999, Croatian media has enjoyed more access to information and freedom in reporting. In his efforts to gain admission to the European Union, Prime Minister Ivica Racan pledged to promote international standards of freedom, democracy and human rights within his country.
Amendments to the criminal code recently proposed by the Croatian government do not appear to be furthering this transition to democratisation. According to the South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), these changes would seriously threaten freedom of expression. One such proposed amendment no longer recognizes truth as a defence to a charge of libel. Essentially, any statement that is true, as well as any statement of opinion, could be a punishable offence if made with the intent to harm an official’s reputation. This is a classic tool of media repression that works by imposing self-censorship upon the journalistic community.
SEEMO fears that another amendment, which would criminalize certain instances of insult and mockery of public officials, will be used to silence criticism within the press. The amendments are especially concerning given Croatia’s recent integration into the greater European arena. SEEMO considers these proposed changes a major regression in the country’s treatment of press freedom.
FRANCE Many of France’s former African colonies have modelled their media laws after the French Press Freedom Law of 1881. In his essay "Press Law in France", Roger Errera, professor of law at Central European University in Budapest, explains that the law was originally touted as "both the instrument and expression of democracy" even though it included a penal code for the violation of press offences. Errera also observes that one of the law’s principal purposes was the protection of public institutions through "laws prohibiting insult of the President, and defamation or insult of governmental administrative bodies".
The last recorded instance of this law’s enforcement was in the mid 1960’s. President Charles de Gaulle was riding in his motorcade along the Champs lyses in Paris, when a spectator greeted him with a loud "Hoo Hoo" (the equivalent of "Boo" in French). The spectator was promptly arrested for violating a provision of the French Press Law.
Although subsequent French presidents have stated publicly that they would not prosecute these types of offences, there has been no serious movement to have these laws repealed.