Qatari draft media law criticized by rights group

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's draft media law came under fire on Tuesday from Human Rights Watch, which singled out "loosely worded provisions" penalizing criticism of the Gulf emirate and its neighbors.

The New York-based organization urged Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani not to approve the law as drafted, calling it "a commitment to censorship".

Qatari officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Freedom of expression is tightly controlled in the tiny autocratic Gulf state, with self-censorship prevalent among national newspapers and other media outlets.

A close U.S. ally that hosts a large U.S. military base, Qatar has escaped the unrest that has engulfed other parts of the region. It lacks any organized political opposition.

Qatar finances and hosts the pan-Arab satellite TV network al-Jazeera, which has closely covered Arab revolts elsewhere.

Although the draft calls for abolishing criminal penalties for media law violations, it contains some sweeping provisions.

Article 53 prohibits publishing or broadcasting information that would "throw relations between the state and the Arab and friendly states into confusion" or "abuse the regime or offend the ruling family or cause serious harm to the national or higher interests of the state".

Violators would face fines of up to 1 million Qatari riyals ($275,000).

The draft approved by the emir's advisory Shura Council in June would be the first change to Qatar's media law since 2008, when the government set up the Doha Centre for Media Freedom.

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Qatari draft media law criticized by rights group