Freedom of the press in Bhutan
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Freedom of the press in Bhutan is an ongoing social and political controversy in the country of Bhutan. Bhutanese journalists are reported to have limited access to the right to freedom of the press which is established and protected under Bhutan's constitution.
An incident in 2016 involving the prosecution of the journalist Namgay Zam occurred in response to her decision to share a Facebook post on her personal account about a woman's property dispute with a businessman, leading to the charge of defamation against her. [1] She was eventually sentenced to three months in prison and was required to pay a fine. [2] Many citizens believe this outcome to be a miscarriage of justice and an example of increasingly reduced freedoms for journalists in Bhutan.
Bhutanese government officials enacted laws that restrict what can be shared on social media. While the constitution in Bhutan guarantees freedom of speech, civil servants such as journalists were historically denied this right due to a law that stated, "A civil servant shall not critique his agency and the Royal Government".[3] However, this was contrary to Chapter Three of the Bhutan Information, Communications and Media Act 2006 where journalists must be aware that any professional or government licensing of journalists is a violation of the Freedom of the Press, which has now been repealed. [4] Bhutan is praised for its high level of "gross domestic happiness",[5] but some citizens and people in the international community have come to question the legitimacy of this statement with regards to the prosecution of journalists and the subsequent breach of the Bhutanese Constitution.
References[]
- ^ The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/18/bhutan-journalist-hit-by-defamation-suit-for-sharing-facebook-post.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ com/articles /20160901/07532335413/bhutans-gross-national-unhappiness-wake-countrys-first-facebook-defamation-lawsuit-fears-censorship-rise.shtml "Bhutan's Gross National Unhappiness: In The Wake Of The Country's First Facebook Defamation Lawsuit, Fears Of Censorship Rise". Techdirt.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ Zam, Namgay. "When Freedom of Expression Isn't Free: Journalism, Facebook, and Censorship in Bhutan". The Diplomat.
- ^ "Code of Ethics for Journalists" (PDF). .
- ^ "Bhutan Faces an Important Test of Press Freedom". The New York Times.
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