The Lebanese Press Syndicates and the Lebanese Press Editors have entered a state of “full alert” to confront what they consider to be serious errors in the new media law, most notably the texts allowing the imprisonment of journalists, renewing their demands on the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, to return the law to reconsider its articles.
The position came during a visit by the head of the Lebanese Press Syndicate, Joseph Al-Qasifi, to the head of the Lebanese Press Syndicate, Awni Al-Kaaki, in the presence of a member of the Press Syndicate Council, Muhammad Nimr, where they discussed the stages reached by communications related to the new media law and the fundamental observations of the two unions on it.
Al-Kaaki and Al-Qasifi stressed that “the two unions are on full alert to correct the grave mistakes included in the law, most notably the texts that allow for the imprisonment of a journalist.”
The two captains affirmed their rejection of “any material that would harm the freedom of the press and media, whatever the reasons or pretexts, or detract from the status and rights of journalists and media professionals, or undermine the role and position of the two unions.”
They also warned of “the danger of permitting the establishment of new media unions for any entity or party,” considering that this constitutes a threat to the unity of the media body and opens the door to the fragmentation of liberal professions unions in Lebanon and undermining their historical and organizational roles.
Al-Kaaki and Al-Qasifi renewed their appeal to the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, to take the initiative to revoke the media law, thus paving the way for reconsidering its articles and amending them in a way that is consistent, according to their position, with the constitution and the spirit of public freedoms.
They stressed the need for the law to preserve Lebanon’s media status at the Arab and international levels, and to preserve the unity of the media body and the role of the press and editors unions.
The two captains emphasized that “defending press freedom is not defending journalists alone, but rather one of the basic pillars of the Lebanese democratic system,” stressing that any media law must be “an umbrella to protect and regulate freedom, not a tool to restrict it, punish those with opinion and speech, or legislate chaos.”
The House of Representatives approved the new media law during its legislative session in August 2026, after a long legislative process that extended for years and witnessed discussions on regulating the media sector and provisions for print, audio, visual and electronic media.
Following its approval, objections emerged from media entities and unions to a number of its articles, especially those related to penalties, the role of unions and the organization of media work, while the law became the focus of movements and communications to demand a reconsideration of some of its provisions.
