AP: Coronavius excuse to limit free speech, Serbia such example

As governments around the world are taking extraordinary measures to keep people at home and stop the coronary pandemic of the virus, some are dissatisfied with the emphasis of the wrong steps and others are using the crisis to silence criticism and strengthen control, according to the Associated Press (AP), citing examples from Thailand, Egypt, Hungary and Serbia.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has misused the health crisis, assessing the AP, and recalls that he gave Orbán the authority to rule on an indefinitely stated decree, without charging with existing laws or parliamentary restrictions.

One aspect of the law, allegedly passed to deal with the coronary virus, envisions up to five years in prison for those convicted of spreading false or distorted facts during an emergency.

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic said that “global health problems caused by Coronavirus require effective measures to protect people's health and lives”, which she added that “include fighting dezinforms that cause panic and social unrest”.

She stressed, however, that the “unfortunately some governments use this operation as an excuse to impose disproportional restrictions on press freedom”, which is a <x2 anti-productive approach that should be stopped” because “absolutely in times of crisis, freedoms and valid rights should be protected”.

When it comes to Serbia, The AP says police briefly detained journalist Ana Lalich, who wrote about the lack of protective equipment and chaotic conditions in a large hospital complex. The clinical centre said her text had upset the public and damaged the image of the health care organisation.

Thai artist Mr Danay Usama had concerns when he posted Facebook that after his return from Spain, no passenger was subjected to health checks at Bangkok airport, but airport officials denied him and he was arrested and accused of spreading false news.

Reminding that the penalties for false news are up to five years in prison and about $3,000, The AP says Danay believes the Thai government fears that the opposition may use its announcement as proof of its failure to fight corruption and that it should take action as a warning to others.

The state of emergency in the fight against corruption has given Prime Minister Pryjut Chan-o-chow extraordinary competencies, including media censorship, according to the AP, adding that more than ten people have been arrested on charges of spreading disinformations to the Coronavirus.

“Cavid-19 is a significant «threat to the governments and the security of the regime, because it has the potential to bring about mismanagement and lack of transparency on issues affecting all citizens of a country”, said Aim Singhbra from Sydney University.

Because pandemic, as a global issue, is the focus of global publicity, it is increasingly difficult for governments to control public messages without expressing how little or many have done compared to the rest of the world, she added.

In Cambodia, for example, where Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power for 35 years, the Human Rights Organisation LICAHO documented 24 arrests for the exchange of information concerning the Coronavirus, including supporters of the Disbanded National Rescue Cambodian Party.

Human Rights Watch reported the arrest and interrogation of a 14-year-old girl who reported to the social diets on the cases of Ovid-19 in her school and province.

The Philippines Parliament adopted a special law giving President Felipe Duterte extraordinary authorisations, according to the AP, adding that the new law declared “the spreading of false information for the Devi-19 crisis in social media and other platforms” a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment of up to two months and fines of about $119,500.

At least two journalists have been accused of spreading false news about the coronary crisis, according to the AP, which quoted Aries Arugaj from the University of the Philippines as afraid that Duterte would use greater power to eliminate disputes and deal with political dissidents.

The AP also recalls that in an pandemic of Coronavirus, Egypt had expelled a British correspondent on a report that conducted a study questioning the official data of the number of patients in the country.

Iraq suspended Reuters reporters' work for three months with a fine of around $20,800 on charges that the actual number of affected and dead from the Corleone in Iraq is much higher than the official figures.