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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/sep/10/press-freedom-grenada
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Grenada law 'threat to press freedom' | Grenada law 'threat to press freedom' |
| (8 days later) | |
| Grenada's parliament has enacted a law that press freedom bodies believe will have a chilling effect on free speech. | Grenada's parliament has enacted a law that press freedom bodies believe will have a chilling effect on free speech. |
| People who send emails and tweets or make comments on social networking and media websites that are deemed to be "offensive" face a potential punishment of a year in jail. | People who send emails and tweets or make comments on social networking and media websites that are deemed to be "offensive" face a potential punishment of a year in jail. |
| The electronic crimes act also outlaws the posting of information that is known to be false but is reproduced in order to cause "annoyance… insult… and ill will." | The electronic crimes act also outlaws the posting of information that is known to be false but is reproduced in order to cause "annoyance… insult… and ill will." |
| Wesley Gibbings, president of the association of media workers in nearby Trinidad, called the law "a travesty and in direct contravention of the principle and guarantee of free expression and press freedom." | Wesley Gibbings, president of the association of media workers in nearby Trinidad, called the law "a travesty and in direct contravention of the principle and guarantee of free expression and press freedom." |
| And Alison Bethel McKenzie, director of the International Press Institute (IPI), said: "Laws criminalising insult are superfluous in any open society. | And Alison Bethel McKenzie, director of the International Press Institute (IPI), said: "Laws criminalising insult are superfluous in any open society. |
| "Civil courts are perfectly equipped to handle the offences addressed by this act. But secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the citizens of any democracy have a fundamental right to debate — robustly, forcefully, even tastelessly — the public figures and policies that affect their lives." | "Civil courts are perfectly equipped to handle the offences addressed by this act. But secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the citizens of any democracy have a fundamental right to debate — robustly, forcefully, even tastelessly — the public figures and policies that affect their lives." |
| She added: "We urge Grenadian and regional media to take a closer look at this law and the potential consequences it could have for freedom of speech and investigative journalism in the Caribbean." | She added: "We urge Grenadian and regional media to take a closer look at this law and the potential consequences it could have for freedom of speech and investigative journalism in the Caribbean." |
| Source: IPI | Source: IPI |
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