The Right to Offend, Shock or Disturb A Guide to Evolution of Insult Laws in 2007 and 2008 by Carolyn R. Wendell preface by Richard N. Winfield introduction by Caroline Fourest World Press Freedom Committee publication sponsored by Ringier AG The World Press Freedom Committee is a coordination group of national and international news media organizations. It has 45 affiliates on six continents and is dedicated to: • News media free of government interference • A full and free flow of news • Practical assistance to media needing it For more information about WPFC, please consult our web site, www.wpfc.org Funding of this publication, by Ringier AG, Zurich, Switzerland Country maps by permission of The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C. Press freedom ratings by Freedom House, New York, N.Y. Editor of the publication, Ronald Koven Other WPFC publications on this subject include: “Insult Laws: An Insult to Press Freedom, Study of More Than 90 Countries and Territories” by Ruth Walden, 286 pages, 2000 “Hiding From the People, How ‘insult’ laws restrict public scrutiny of public officials, What can be done about it,” 18 pages, 2000 “It’s a Crime: How Insult Laws Stifle Press Freedom, 2006 Status Report,” edited by Marilyn Greene, 306 pages, 2007 Those publications and copies of this book may be obtained by contacting: World Press Freedom Committee 11690-C Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, VA 20191 USA Tel. 1 (703) 715-9811 Fax 1 (703) 620-6790 E-mail: [email protected] Published by the World Press Freedom Committee © 2009 Table of Contents Biographical Notes ………………………………………………………. 1 Preface: The Seven Cardinal Sins of Insult Laws by Richard N. Winfield …………………………………………. 3 Introduction: Defamation of Religions versus Free Speech by Caroline Fourest ....................................................................... 5 European Union and Turkey Cyprus ......................................................................................................... 10 France .......................................................................................................... 12 Greece .......................................................................................................... 16 Poland ......................................................................................................... 19 Romania ...................................................................................................... 21 Slovenia ....................................................................................................... 23 Spain ............................................................................................................ 27 Turkey ......................................................................................................... 30 United Kingdom ......................................................................................... 37 Former Soviet Union Azerbaijan .................................................................................................. 40 Belarus ........................................................................................................ 44 Kazakhstan ................................................................................................. 47 Kirghizstan ................................................................................................. 51 Moldova …………………………………………………………...……... 53 Russia .......................................................................................................... 54 Tajikistan .................................................................................................... 61 Sub-Saharan Africa Burundi ....................................................................................................... 64 Cameroon ………………………………………………………………… 65 Central African Republic ………………………………………..……… 67 Chad ............................................................................................................ 68 Congo, Democratic Republic .................................................................... 69 Gambia ........................................................................................................ 70 Lesotho ........................................................................................................ 72 Liberia ......................................................................................................... 73 Mali .............................................................................................................. 74 Mauritania .................................................................................................. 75 Níger ............................................................................................................ 76 Rwanda ....................................................................................................... 77 Senegal ........................................................................................................ 78 Sierra Leone ............................................................................................... 81 Latin America Argentina .................................................................................................... 84 Brazil ……………………………………………………………………... 87 Chile ............................................................................................................ 88 Colombia ..................................................................................................... 91 Mexico ......................................................................................................... 93 Uruguay ...................................................................................................... 97 Asia Afghanistan ................................................................................................. 100 China ........................................................................................................... 102 India ............................................................................................................ 105 Indonesia ..................................................................................................... 107 Malaysia ...................................................................................................... 110 Mongolia ..................................................................................................... 111 Singapore .................................................................................................... 114 Sri Lanka .................................................................................................... 117 Thailand ...................................................................................................... 119 Middle East/North Africa Algeria ......................................................................................................... 126 Bahrain ....................................................................................................... 128 Egypt ........................................................................................................... 129 Iran ............................................................................................................. 132 Iraq ............................................................................................................. 135 Jordan ......................................................................................................... 137 Kuwait ........................................................................................................ 139 Lebanon ...................................................................................................... 141 Morocco ...................................................................................................... 143 Saudi Arabia .............................................................................................. 148 Syria ........................................................................................................... 150 Tunisia ........................................................................................................ 152 Yemen ......................................................................................................... 154 1 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES Carolyn R. Wendell: As a freelance writer and editor, she has worked with public agencies, nonprofit groups and businesses. She currently works with The World Bank, Freedom Communications, and others. Previously, she spent eight years in the Community Publishing Division of Gannett Co., Inc. She conducted the research for the World Press Freedom Committee’s 2006 world insult law survey, “It’s a Crime: How Insult Laws Stifle Press Freedom.” Wendell earned a Bachelor’s degree in government from the College of William & Mary and a Master's in education from the University of Virginia. She lives in Falls Church, Virginia with her husband and daughter. Caroline Fourest: A prominent French journalist and author specialized in religious fundamentalism, secularism, right-wing political movements and feminism, she is co- founder and editor of the magazine ProChoix (Pro-choice), a regular contributor to the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and columnist for the daily Le Monde. She won the prestigious political book of the year prize in 2006 for “La Tentation Obscurantiste,” (The Obscurantist Temptation), awarded at the French National Assembly. In 2005, she won the Prix national de la laïcité (National Secularism Prize),
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