Kuwait: three new papers obtain legal status

Posted by Elena Perotti on October 30, 2006 at 11:33 AM

Three new dailies were recently granted license in Kuwait under the Press and Publication Law approved earlier this year. Al-Rai Newspaper, Al-Jareeda Company and the National Group for Information were the first ever to obtain a license under the law approved in March: to date the applications pending are 118.

“We hope to conclude all applications pending in the next few days” said minister of information Mohammed Al-Sanousi upon the granting of the first license to Al-Rai Newspaper. Aside from papers, new radio and television stations are also waiting to be licensed.

The Press and Publication Law was approved in March after a four-year deliberation process, and supposedly resulted in less censoring in the Arab world:

It is now possible to obtain licenses for media outlets in Kuwait, and the ministry’s rejection can be appealed before a tribunal.

A final court ruling is now necessary in order to imprison a journalist.

The fines and jail-time punishments for publications criticizing Islam or the Al-Sabah royal family have been increased.

To date there are five dailies published in Kuwait, three of which in Arabic and two in English. Most of the 118 requests for licenses were reportedly rejected due to procedural flaws in the application.

Source: kuwaittimes

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