Watchdogs in Australia and Bahrain have slammed anti-terrorism laws for threatening press freedom. Australias Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) reported that press freedom has declined dramatically in the last 12 months since the Anti-Terrorism (No.2) Act of 2005 was passed by Parliament last December. The law penalises any person who reports unlawfully disclosed information about terrorism suspects detained by police. Relaying information such as the length of terrorist suspects illegal detention and other information may be cause for imprisonment of five years.

The law also disregards journalists professional privilege of protection by giving the federal police more power to obtain documents relating to a terrorist offence, including information pertaining to the identity of a confidential source. The penalty for refusing to comply is
AUD3,300 (USD2,500).

The Telecommunications Amendment Act passed on 30 March 2006 gave police and security agencies further authority to tap the phones of individuals considered as third parties to suspected terrorist plots. MEAA says, At any time police could be listening, obliterating any professional right the journalist has to protect the confidentiality of her or his source.

Thus, unbeknownst to journalists who contact terror suspects for their stories, authorities may tap their phones to access not only to conversations with suspects but those of other innocent sources. The same Act likewise gives the Australian Customs Service and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission access to private communication such as emails and SMS or text messages.

Meanwhile, in Bahrain, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) expressed alarm that the legislation enacted in August this year entitled Protecting Society from Terrorist Acts could give authorities more grounds to crack down on opposition critics and civil society groups.

According to EOHR, the new law defines terrorism so vaguely to include threats to national unity. It, however, fails to define terrorist associations and organisations, expressly stating instead that any organisation opposed to the Bahraini Constitution is a terrorist body.

A decree issued in August likewise ordered Internet service providers in the country to block Googles video feature, a move the EOHR attributed to several videos that were critical to the Bahraini government. The ban was lifted a few days later after protests by civil society groups. However, authorities continue to block access to the country's eight most active opposition websites and forums, including Bahrain Online <http://www.bahrainonline.org>.

This new law adds to existing government restrictions on civil society and continue to stifle free expression, EOHR said.

The new law was also criticised by the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Amnesty International, the UN Committee against Torture and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and anti-terrorism.


Sources:

MEAA (2006). Australia: Anti-terrorism laws threaten to muzzle press. IFEX COMMUNIQU VOL. 15 NO. 35. newsletter. Retrieved 5 SEPTEMBER 2006

------- (2006). Bahrain: Rights groups criticize anti-terrorism law. IFEX COMMUNIQU VOL. 15 NO. 35. newsletter. Retrieved 5 SEPTEMBER 2006