The Tribune

By PACO NUNEZ

Tribune News Editor

AN international press freedom group has urged the Bahamas to end laws allowing journalists to be jailed for what they write or say.

The International Press Institute (IPI) told Prime Minister Perry Christie it is “appalling” that criminal defamation still exists in the Bahamas, and asked him to bring the nation’s media-related laws in line with international standards.

IPI executive director Alison Bethel McKenzie said: “Our position, which is supported by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, is that criminal libel laws are antiquated and risk being misused to punish investigative journalism and chill critical opinion.

“Their existence promotes self-censorship on matters of public interest.”

In a letter to Mr Christie, Mrs KcKenzie said all defamation, slander, libel and insult allegations should be handled by civil, not criminal, courts.

“Mr Prime Minister, we hope you would agree that no journalist should face criminal charges for what he or she has written or broadcast unless that information incites violence, which in most countries is a criminal offence.

“We respectfully encourage your government to consider amending the Bahamian Penal Code to repeal criminal defamation,” she wrote.

Mrs McKenzie also said the IPI, which promotes responsible, ethical journalism and the development of media professionalism in the Caribbean, would like to visit the Bahamas to discuss press freedom with Mr Christie in person.

Under the Bahamas Penal Code, individuals convicted of intentional libel face up to two years in prison. Seditious libel or libel with a seditious intent, including insulting the Queen, carries a prison sentence of up to three years for repeat offenders.

Although the Bahamas government has not applied the provisions in recent years, IPI said it believes they pose a threat to free expression as long as they remain on the books.

IPI – a global network of publishers, editors, and leading journalists from more than 120 countries (including the publisher of The Tribune) – together with the Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM), is leading a campaign against defamation and insult laws across the region.

Currently, defamation is criminalised to some extent in all 16 independent countries considered to be culturally or geographically part of the Caribbean.

In July, the IPI conducted a two-week mission to Barbados, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago as part of its campaign to abolish criminalised defamation.

The same month, Grenada removed most references to defamation from its penal code, but retained seditious libel and references to insulting the Queen.

Mrs McKenzie wrote: “We find it particularly appalling that an island nation as vibrant as the Bahamas, which so fiercely cherishes independence and maintains close ties to the United States and the United Nations, condones the jailing of journalists and disregards the people’s right to know.

“As your country has always been a leader on so many fronts throughout the Caribbean, we ask that it continue this leadership by removing criminal defamation and seditious libel from its books.

“We firmly believe that defamation reform will strengthen democracy in the Bahamas for generations to come.”

At its 2012 World Congress in Trinidad, IPI members approved the “Declaration of Port of Spain”, which calls for the abolition of criminal defamation and insult laws in the Caribbean, in support of a strong and independent media.