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total countries/territories: 38
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| Country/Territory |
Answers |
Comments |
Verified |
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Albania
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
c. Other (specify)
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Article 45
Responsibility for the Broadcast Program
The journalist or person responsible for the material broadcast by private or public radio-television, have criminal or civil responsibility, as the case may be, when the falsity of the broadcast information or program causes moral or material damage to private or legal persons.
Source:
Art 45 Law on PUBLIC AND PRIVATE RADIO-TELEVISION IN THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
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2012/02/21
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Algeria
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b. Administrative sanction
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All Algerian media are governed by the Information code (Law No. 90-97, also known as the Information Law) and the various decrees promulgated since the Codes initial enactment on April 3, 1990. The media are also governed by those articles in the Penal Code that set out the penalties for subversive acts and for defamation. Both the Information Code and the Penal Code Articles were last amended in 2001.
Source:
Algerian Information and Penal Code
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2006/04/03
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Australia
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a. Criminal prosecution
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Defamation law in Australia is currently constituted by a combination of common law and State and Territory statutes. Note this is generally a civil rather than a criminal action in the courts.
Source:
The Attorney General's Department www.ag.gov.au
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2006/04/03
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Austria
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a. Criminal prosecution
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Reports by the media that constitute a criminal offence (e.g. defamation) entail criminal prosecution.
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2005/06/09
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Bahrain
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
c. Other (specify)
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The Minster of Information has the right to only ban the article. The Prime Minister may suspend the publication of a newspaper for up to two years or cancel its licence if it is proved to be serving the interests of a foreign country or opposing the interests of Bahrain. Any attempt to bypass the Ministry of Information can lead to withdrawal of press credentials and in the case of foreign journalists, expulsion
Source:
http://www.article19.org/docimages/334.htm
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2005/05/16
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Belarus
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
c. Other (specify)
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To repress the opposition the Governmnet use non legal instruments, as well.
Source:
OSCE report on parliamentary election 2004
Freedom House, von Steinsdorff, Das politische System Weißrußlands In: Ismayr: Die politischen Systeme Osteuropas, 2.ed, 2004, pp. 457 et seq.
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2006/04/06
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Benin
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
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Source:
Mr Theodule Nouatchi, lecturer in law at the University of Benin (Cotonou).
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2005/06/30
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Bosnia and Herzegovina
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
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Source:
Law on the Basis of the Public Broadcasting System and on the Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2002; Election Law of BiH, 2001, Chapter 15-16.
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2005/03/29
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Brazil
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
c. Other (specify)
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2024/10/21
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Bulgaria
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b. Administrative sanction
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b) and fines of up to 7 500 Euros
Source:
Law on Radio and Television Art 18
Law for Election of National Representatives Art 69
Law on Radio and Television Art 126/1
Law for Election of National Representatives Art 70
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2007/01/31
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Canada
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
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Media can have their licence suspended by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission. Media can also be prosecuted for libel by offended candidates (see Broadcasting Act 1991, ss. 12 (2), (3)).
In this regard, the Criminal Code stipulates that every one who is proven guilty of defamatory libel is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. Furthermore, every one who publishes a defamatory libel that he knows is false is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years (see Criminal Code, ss. 300, 301).
Source:
Elections Canada
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2006/12/19
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Croatia
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b. Administrative sanction
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Misdemeanor shall be penalized by a fine
Source:
Law on telecommunications
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2005/11/14
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Czech Republic
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b. Administrative sanction
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The Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting ( hereinafter only "the Council") is established by the Broadcasting Act dated 17 May 2001 (No. 231/2001 Coll.) as an administrative authority which shall execute government administrationin the area of radio and television broadcasting and retransmission.
The Council shall supervise maintaining and further development of plurality of programme offer and information in the area of radio and television broadcasting and retransmission, shall observe the independence of its content and shall fulfil other tasks laid down by legal regulations.
(http://www.rrtv.cz/en/)
(2) The Council shall be an administrative authority which shall execute government administration in the area of radio and television broadcasting and retransmission and shall supervise maintaining and further development of plurality of programme offer and information in the area of radio and television broadcasting and retransmission, shall observe the independence of its content and shall fulfil other tasks laid down by this Act and by other specific legal regulations.
(Article 4 of Act dated 17 May 2001 on radio and television broadcasting operation and on changes of other acts)
Source:
http://www.rrtv.cz/en/
http://www.rrtv.cz/slozeni_uradu_en/index.html The Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting
http://www.ijnet.org/FE_Article/ml/CRBroadcastingAct.htm#p2 Broadcasting Act,
see Part seven (from Article 59), Penalty Provisions
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2006/11/30
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Djibouti
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
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Source:
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=6411
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2005/05/10
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Egypt
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
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Source:
http://www.internews.org/arab%5Fmedia%5Fresearch/egypt.pdf
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2005/06/22
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Greece
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
c. Other (specify)
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c. Civil judgement
Source:
PD 100/2000, Art. 9
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2012/04/13
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Hungary
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
c. Other (specify)
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Art. 179, 180 and 181. of the Criminal Code
Article 138 of Act nr. 69 of 1999 on petty offences
ad c: civil liability: defamation under Article 78 and redress under Art. 84. of Act IV of 1959 on the Civil Code
Source:
http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/media/5_Documentary_Resources/2_Thematic_documentation/Freedom_of_expression/DH-MM(2003)006%20rev%20Bil%20Legal%20prov%20defamation,%20libel%20&%20insult.asp#P908_84842
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2007/01/29
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Italy
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b. Administrative sanction
c. Other (specify)
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For any types of violation, the Communications Regulatory Authority (Agcom) can impose sanctions and fines (1.000-20.000€). The authority then reports to the judiciary, and a file opens in the Administrative Tribunal of Lazio.
Source:
Law of 22 February 2000, n. 28, Art. 10
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2012/04/16
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Kenya
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
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2012/03/28
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Lithuania
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
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Source:
Law on elections to the Seimas, 1996, article 51.
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2005/03/29
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Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
c. Other (specify)
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Both civil, administrative and criminal responsibility is possible depending on the kind and severeness of breaking the law.
Defamation is sanctioned by Criminal Code; however there are some grounds to justify even a defamatory speech.
Some forms of unlawful statements are sanctioned by administrative fees, as well.
The Telecommunication Office reaches a decision for closing the radio station of the holder who committed the breaking of campaign silence.
Source:
Freedom House
Criminal Code art. 172 et seq
Broadcasting law art 85, 86
Law on election of MP's Art 48
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2005/03/23
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Malaysia
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c. Other (specify)
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c) Action may be taken by the relevant authority under the relevant laws
Source:
Suhaila Norsham, Secretary of International Relation Committee, Election Commission of Malaysia
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2007/01/21
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Morocco
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
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Source:
Articles of Chapter 4 of the Press Code
http://www.mincom.gov.ma/french/journaux/codepress.html
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2007/01/29
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Niger
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b. Administrative sanction
c. Other (specify)
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Sanctions Correctionnelles
Source:
Ordonnance N°99-67 du 20 décembre 1999, portant régime de l aliberté de la presse, Chapitres VIII et IX
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2007/01/02
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Palestine
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
|
Source:
http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Mena/palestin.htm
http://www.worldaudit.org/presstext.htm
http://www.cpj.org/attacks03/mideast03/israel.html#pat
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2005/06/22
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Romania
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
|
Source:
Law on the Election of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, 2004.
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2005/03/30
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Russian Federation
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
|
Source:
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, article 128.1 (defamation).
The Code Of Administrative Offences Of The Russian Federation (article 5.5).
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2016/06/06
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Seychelles
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a. Criminal prosecution
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Source:
2004 World Press Freedom Review by the International Pres Institute available at http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Africa/seychelles.htm
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2005/05/12
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Sierra Leone
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a. Criminal prosecution
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2005/06/09
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Slovakia
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a. Criminal prosecution
c. Other (specify)
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Comments:
general protection of the Criminal Code and the Civil Code in cases of libel etc.
Criminal Code
(Law No. 140/1961 Zb. of the Official Gazette as amended)
Third head Criminal acts against order in public matters; Criminal acts against the exercise of functions of organs of state administration and public officers; Attack on organs of state administration
§ 154
(2) Gross insults or defamation of an organ of state administration in the exercise of its function or in connection with its function are punishable by up to one year imprisonment or by pecuniary punishment.
§ 156
(3) Gross insults or defamation of a public officer in the exercise of his/her function or in connection with his/her function are punishable by up to one-year imprisonment or by pecuniary punishment.
Fifth head Criminal acts grossly disturbing civic cohabitation; Violence against group of inhabitants and against individual
§ 206 Defamation
(1) Disseminating false information about another person, able to jeopardize his/her reputation among other citizens, namely to discredit him/her in occupation or disturb his/her family relations or cause other serious damage is punishable by up to two years imprisonment.
(2) By imprisonment from one to five years or by pecuniary punishment or by disqualification shall be punished the perpetrator, if the act stipulated under subparagraph 1 has committed through press, film, radio, television or other similarly effective way.
Simple Offences Act
(Law No. 372/1990 of the Official Gazette)
Article 49 Simple offences against civil cohabitation
1) Simple offence commits anyone who
(a) offends another person by insulting him/her or exposing him/her to ridicule
2) This offence may be punished by a fine up to 1 000 Sk.
Civil Code
(Law No. 40/1964 of the Official Gazette)
Article 11 Protection of personality
Any natural person has the right to protection of his or her personality, in particular of his or her life and health, civil and human dignity, privacy, name and personal characteristics.
Article 13
a) any natural person has the right to request that unjustified infringement of his or her personal rights should be stopped and the consequences of such infringement eliminated, and to obtain appropriate satisfaction.
b) In cases when the satisfaction obtained under Article 13 (1) is insufficient, in particular because a persons dignity and position in society has been considerably diminished, the injured person is entitled to compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
According to the International Press Institute, in a case, the European Court on Human Rights had to assure that the simple reporting should not be illegal. Cf. : http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Europe/slovakia.htm (case Feldek-Hrico)
Source:
Criminal Code
Civil Code
http://www.coe.int/T/e/human%5Frights/media/5%5FDocumentary%5FResources/2_Thematic_documentation/Broadcasting_&_convergence/DH-MM(2003)007%20E%20Overview%20broadcasting%20authorities.asp#P2883_119344
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2007/01/09
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Slovenia
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a. Criminal prosecution
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the general defamation, libel etc. rules of Art. 169-173 of criminal code apply, punishable is only the assertion and the circulation of statements
Source:
http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/media/5_Documentary_Resources/2_Thematic_documentation/Freedom_of_expression/DH-MM(2003)006%20rev%20Bil%20Legal%20prov%20defamation,%20libel%20&%20insult.asp#P1635_157073
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2005/04/11
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Somalia
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
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Which is normally clan based depending on which lord controls where.
Source:
http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:_0Vymtvg8bYJ:www.apfw.org/data/news/english/SOMALILANDsreport1004.pdf+somaliland+election+media+reports&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
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2005/05/04
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Sudan
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
|
Source:
Articles 7 and 8 of the Law to stop bad acts.
http://www.arab-ipu.org/pdb/RelatedArticlesGvnSPName.asp?SPName=CHRN&StructuredIndexCode=&LawBookID=021020015496088&Year1=&Year2=&YearGorH=
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2006/11/20
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Tunisia
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b. Administrative sanction
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Previously, France broadcast its France 2 TV station, but its license was suspended in October 1999 after the station aired coverage critical of the elections in that year. In the summer of 2003, in anticipation of the 2004 presidential election, Parliament adopted an amendment to the Electoral Code that prohibits individuals from supporting or criticizing candidates on foreign or domestic broadcast media.
Source:
TUNISIA PRESS OVERVIEW 2002: Broadcast media.
http://www.cpj.org/attacks03/mideast03/tunisia.html
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2005/05/08
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Turkey
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
|
Source:
Art 155, 158, 159 Penal Code, Art 134 electoral Code
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2005/03/30
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Ukraine
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a. Criminal prosecution
c. Other (specify)
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not specified to election candidates:
1. Article 182 of Criminal Code
Violation of personal privacy
The illegal collection, storage, use or dissemination of confidential information about a person without his/her consent, or dissemination of such information in a public speech, publicly demonstrated work, or mass media, shall be punishable by a fine up to 50 tax-free minimum incomes, or correctional labour for a term of up to two years, or arrest for a term of up to six months, or restraint of liberty for a term of up to three years.
2. civil liability (Art. 7. of Civil Code: reimbursement of material/immaterial damage)
Source:
http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/media/5_Documentary_Resources/2_Thematic_documentation/Freedom_of_expression/DH-MM(2003)006%20rev%20Bil%20Legal%20prov%20defamation,%20libel%20&%20insult.asp#TopOfPage
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2006/11/20
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Yemen
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a. Criminal prosecution
b. Administrative sanction
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Source:
Articles 37 to 52, Section 4 of the Electoral Law of Yemen 2001.
http://www.arab-ipu.org/pdb/RelatedArticlesGvnSPName.asp?SPName=CHRN&StructuredIndexCode=&LawBookID=181120033455535&Year1=&Year2=&YearGorH=
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2006/11/20
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