To begin with, any full-fledged democracy does not need a press law. In Jordan, we are still stuttering towards democracy, and although the Jordanian Constitution guarantees freedom of expressions to all Jordanians, the government has produced laws and bylaws that limit this freedom to a minimum that can be promoted to the outside world.

The Jordanian press sector is operating under the current press and publication law that was issued in 1998. This law has seen some improvements from the notorious 1995 law, but still Jordanian press and journalists deserve a more progressive law.

The Government of Adnan Badran was famous for its instability and its increase of the oil prices. However it had some liberal elements in its cabinet to be able to draft a new press and publication law that included many democratic provisions supporting the freedom of expression. One of the most important articles was no. 51 which regulates the legal environment in which journalists are being prosecuted for publishing "prohibited" material. The article refuses any imprisonment, jail or even detention of journalists. It also refuses any prosecutions for journalists under the Penal Code which is being used in most cases to imprison journalists in Jordan. The press and publication law article 51.G states clearly that all "Penalties for violations of the press law be dealt with by the press law itself and not by any other law" with direct relevance to the Penal Code.

This is a bright picture, but let us step into the dark. The government introduced the draft law to what is called "The national guidance committee" in the Parliament to be discussed and then endorsed, just as the constitution requires.

In the Parliament of Jordan, progressiveness and modernism are unwelcome guests. The Parliament committee introduced new articles that demand the arrest and jail of journalists based on "press crimes". The press crimes were vague in definition ranging from the "insult of religious figures" to the creative and unique Jordanian charge named "lengthening the tongue" which can mean criticism of any public figure or the "national security" of the country.

As the Parliament demanded the arrests, the Jordanian press community went raging. A number of red-hot articles were published even in daily newspapers criticizing the Parliament. The next step was even more surprising when the government withdrew the draft law from the Parliament, and then introduced a new law without stating clearly that the journalists should not be jailed. This step, means that the Jordanian journalists are still under the heavy strike of the Penal Code even if the press law does not include the jail option.

Let us summarize it. The original press law prohibited any arrests of any journalist under any law. The law modified by the government demanded the arrest for "press crimes". The new draft law modified by the government does not demand the jail sentence but does not prohibit it under any law, thus leaving journalists exposed to the Penal Code which include harsh arrest and financial measures.

In a vital meeting with the Jordanian Press Association, Prime Minister Bakhit stated that the government does not 'support journalists detention" but this verbal commitment, although genuine is not stated in the law. I trust that this Prime Minister will not jail any journalist but any other Prime Minister not fond with freedoms can use the Penal Code to arrest journalists.

The demands of the press community in Jordan should be clear and direct: no changes to the original draft law that legally prohibits the arrests. What we are witnessing now is a detour of the practice of suppressing press freedom but with the same destination: journalists under threat of detention for writing criticism that the government does not tolerate!