| Opening the Regional Conference Media in the Arab Judiciary |
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Under the sponsorship of the Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifai, the activities of the Regional Conference organized by the Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists and Free Voice Dutch organization was launched, on Saturday February 13, at the Dead Sea Kempinski Hotel. The conference is titled "Media in the Arab Judiciary, Towards a Partnership for Defending Freedoms."
He added that "the judiciary and the media are two integrated authorities, but they are independent and neither of them can reach its goals or contribute to serving society except in a clear framework of dependence. Furthermore, we can say that that media and judiciary share the concern of their independence as a prerequisite that neither of them can succeed and flourish without it, as they must function independently and away from any pressure." Nidal Mansour, executive director of the Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists, said in his speech "the judiciary is still the title for truth and the haven of justice, we also believe that the judiciary of a fundamental pillar in the defending freedoms and preserving it from those who try to steal or assault it." Mansour added, "The reality of the media in the Arab world does not give hope or please anybody. Reading the national and international reports reveal the amount of suffering, and despite all the promises that governments give in the Arab world, to stop the restrictions on , media, but the reality is otherwise." He expressed the hope to further strengthen the relationship between the media and the judiciary and said, "It wasn't an easy task, as it is easy in the Arab world to criticize governments, but "judiciary" is a red line which media doesn't approach." Mr. Bart Dijkstra, Director of Free Voice Organization, delivered a speech in the opening ceremony of the conference in which he said that, "This conference seeks to build bridges of understanding among judges, parliamentarians, legal experts and Arab and international media organizations." He added: "We are sure that this conference is an important step towards achieving the shared vision of Free Voice and Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists, this aims to create a media society for change to support and enhance media and freedom of press in the Arab world." It is noteworthy that more than 100 prominent figures participant in the conference, which comes within the activities of the program, "Investing in the Future: A Strategy for Developing the Professional Capacity of the Media," which was launched by the two organizations since 2005. The participants include judges, parliamentarians, journalists and lawyers from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Bahrain, Yemen and Jordan in addition to the participation of human rights, media and international organizations. The participants would discuss, in several sessions and specialized workshops, the summary of the regional study prepared for this conference entitled "Trends of the Arab Judiciary in Freedom of Expression and Media Cases." The study, which was conducted by principal researcher Negad El-Borai, attorney-at law, in collaboration with field researchers in the participating countries, shed light on the trends of the Arab judiciary in dealing with media cases during the past years. The study focuses on the reality of the media in the Arab world, through four main chapters tackling media outlets and the constitutional, legal, cultural, social and economic determinants that affect the freedom of media. There will be several sub-meetings and workshops parallel to the conference for the advisory board of the program and lawyers. Comments (0)
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