D. Suhair bint Sanad Al -Muhannadi
In light of the transformations of the digital age and its accelerating challenges, the Kingdom of Bahrain puts a bright legislative imprint through the draft law regulating press, media and electronic publishing, which is a milestone in the national media march, a mature step towards the consolidation of the rule of law, the promotion of press freedoms, and the preservation of the rights of those who vowed themselves to carry the sincere word, transfer the truth and enlighten the minds, as an inherent part of the Bahraini human community.
In a detailed moment of the development of the modern state, and between the intersection of digital transformations and the challenges of freedoms, the Kingdom of Bahrain extends its palm not to break the pen, but to raise it, and put it in its natural place: a partner in construction, a voice for society, and a bridge between the citizen and the truth.
From here, the draft law on the regulation of journalism, media and electronic publishing emerges, not as a bureaucratic document, but as a national declaration on the maturity of the state, and its role in making public awareness, it is a law that does not chase the journalist, but rather protects it, does not besieged the word, but rather believes in its ability to reform and advance, this law is not just transient legislation; Rather, it is an extension of a march of struggle for freedom of expression, and a mirror that reflects Bahrain’s commitment to the state of law, and its keenness to consolidate a media system that respects man, preserves his dignity, and puts his tools – from a pen, lens and sound – in the state’s palm, not to be maximized or criminalized, but to protect and honor, it is a moment that is not transient in the book of laws, but rather a sincere pulse from the heart of the state to the heart To him: “It is your time to embrace, not to be condemned, and to be prescribed, not to be a maximum, for your pen is not a threat, but rather a promise to a clearer future.”
The abolition of the penalty for imprisonment in journalistic publication cases, and their replacement with fines, represents a remarkable shift in the Bahraini legislative philosophy towards freedom of opinion and expression. This amendment is not just a silent legal item; Rather, it is a mature declaration of the state’s openness to the aspirations of journalists and citizens, and an affirmation that the word, whenever it is committed to professionalism, does not face it with registration, but rather celebrates it with dialogue and justice.
This step came as a practical translation of Bahrain’s continuous interest in the rights of journalists, and its keenness to enable them to perform their enlightening message in an atmosphere of legal and constitutional safety. The draft law came to embrace reality, and keep pace with the afternoon, so the recognition of the electronic media as one of the tributaries of the official media, and its inclusion in the new law, embodying the ability of Bahrain to keep pace with the digital transformation with a flexible and understandable will, neither repressive nor improvisation, the organization here is not a sleeve but maintenance, not restrictions but embrace, and not a ruling on exclusion, but a transit card to welcomed areas of freedom and professionalism.
It is calculated for the competent authorities, led by the Ministry of Information, its serious communication with the spectra of the media and human rights community, and its listening to the opinions of associations, newspapers, and activists, which gave the project a participatory dimension worthy of seeing a homeland that writes its law with the Shura, not by spelling.
The press in Bahrain was not an emergency or an extraneous day on the conscience of the homeland; Rather, it was and still is one of the pillars of national awareness since the beginning of the foundation. The new law comes as an extension of this history to preserve the journalist his position and place, to be at the heart of the human rights system, stressing that protecting the journalist is not a grant, but rather a duty, and that his supervisory role is not a luxury, but rather a basic pillar of the state of law and institutions.
Replacing terms such as “discipline” with “accountability”, abolishing pretrial detention, and creating civil judicial paths to consider media issues, all steps that stem from firm respect for human dignity, and from the belief that the state is dealing with journalists as partners in construction.
In a world in which restrictions are accelerated under the slogans of the organization, Bahrain proves that it has chosen openness in rationality, it is the right of Bahrain to be proud … and the journalist has the right to reassure, and the word has the right to be said, not to condemn, but to make the homelands.
Today, the scene of the victory of the free word in Bahrain is completed, not by slogans, but with a modern legal text that accompanies reality, and the future doors of generations of journalists are legitimized, to continue their national role, with their full tools and rights, under the umbrella of law, the confidence of the state, and the respect of society.
Media and academic researcher
