AMMAN — The
Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) on Monday launched the
2021 annual Media Freedom Index in Jordan report during a ceremony at the
Landmark Amman Hotel attended by journalists and writers, lawyers, as well as
representatives of civil society and international organizations active in the
area of human rights and the media.
اضافة اعلان
The report, entitled Shackled, rated Jordan as
“restricted” for the second year running, with a score of 215.2 out of 600,
down by 4 percent from 2020, “due to the absence of a conducive political
environment in the Kingdom.”
The report was compiled based on 60 questions, filed
by 150 Jordanian journalists representing different media organizations in the
Kingdom, who claimed that there has been an increase in violations against
journalists during the past year, although many were left undocumented.
CDFJ Founder and Director Nidal Mansour, in remarks
at the launch ceremony, said the past year has been shrouded with uncertainty,
as the CDFJ did not officially document any violations against
journalists,
However, he said the report’s findings, based on journalists’ experiences,
suggested an increase in self-censorship, protection of the government’s
interest by media executives, withholding of information by the government, as
well as frequent requests addressed to journalists “to have a cup of coffee”
with a security official, all of which contributed to the drop in Jordan’s
ranking, according to Mansour.
“For more than 20 years since we started issuing the
report, we have been optimistic about improved freedom of the press and
expression, as we believe that everyone deserves the right to express themselves
and enjoy human rights. However, unfortunately, each year, we ran into the same
challenges, obstacles, and violations, and perhaps the violations are
increasing year by year,” said Mansour.
The 2021 report consists of six sections: 1.
Political environment, 2. Legislative environment, 3. Right to access
information, 4. Violations and impunity, 5. Media independence, 6. Freedom of
expression and press online.
The political environment section was rated
“restricted” with a score of 19.9 out of 60. It examines the extent of the
government’s support to the media, besides reviewing the scope of intervention
by the executive authority or security services in the media, and examines if
the government is keen to safeguard media independence.
The legislative environment section maintained its
“partially restricted” rating across 2020 and 2021, scoring 34.9 points out of
90. It inspects how the Jordanian constitution preserves and supports the
freedom of expression and whether Jordan is compatible with international
conventions and treaties that address freedom of expression and press, in
addition to examining whether laws
encourage investment in the media.
The right to access information section received a
“restricted” rating for the second year in a row, with a score of 9.8. It
inspects the extent to which the government and public institutions effectively
implement the Access to Information Act and if there are specified and
transparent provisions on classified information in public institutions, in
addition to whether websites of public institutions adequately provide
information to the public and journalists.
The Violations and Impunity section was rated
“restricted,” with a score of 77.7 out of 210 points, addressing documented
violations related to “media regulations and publication prohibition orders.
The media independence section received a
“restricted” rating with a total of 34.9 points out of 100. The report stated
that, “in principle, there is no independent media in Jordan, as all freedoms
are subject to interference under the pretext of political and regional
conditions.”
The freedom of expression and press online section
also received a “restricted” rating, with a score of 37.2 points out of 100. It
examined the extent of online freedom of journalists, activists, and users of
social media platforms, and whether the state guarantees convenient and
affordable internet access to people, in addition to whether the internet is
safeguarded against control, interference, censorship, or manipulation by the government.
“Media has lost its credibility,” lamented Mansour, and
asked journalists “not to sob” as professionals who work in the media “are
themselves the culprits” behind the deterioration in freedom of expression.
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