Afghan Senate says will not pass amendments to media law

The Upper House of the Afghan parliament said Saturday that it will not pass the latest amendments in the media law. 

A number of Afghan senators believe that the amendments to the media law by the government were in controversy with the Afghan constitution and the values of freedom of expression, saying that if the bill is sent to the House, the senators will not vote for it.

The amendment to the media law, which has been approved by the government cabinet, has raised serious concerns in the country’s media community.

While the Article 4 of the Constitution states that freedom of expression and thought is the right of every person and that this right is enshrined in law without interference, restriction or threat by government officials, the word “threat” is removed in the latest amendment of the government which is a violation of the 19th article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The amendment also notes that the source of information can be disclosed to government agencies, such as the prosecutor’s office, security, and the police, while the source can only be disclosed to the court.

Opposing the amendments, senators say that they will not allow restrictions on the media.

Meanwhile, Afghan journalists call on both of the Lower and Upper House not to pass the bill.

Journalists and the media consider the government’s amendments to be against the articles of 7, 120, and 122 of the Constitution.

The government is said to have amended 13 articles of the media law.