The Egyptian Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry has developed a draft freedom of information bill, according to a media report.
“Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology Hany Mahmoud said his ministry has prepared a freedom of information bill and plans to open it to public debate after the holy Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, which is expected to begin on Sunday,” reported The Independent.
The article also says that Abdel Rahman al-Sawy, “who chairs the ministry committee responsible for drawing up the law, said the committee suggested the establishment of a national council to oversee the provision of information and transparently solve citizen’s complaints related data access. He said members of the proposed council would be granted immunity to ensure them protection against threats while in the job and after retirement.” The committee referred to is the People’s Assembly Human Rights Committee.
The article says a copy of the bill was circulated. It lists “the principles that authors considered fundamental, including the public’s right to access information. It said limits on this freedom should be the exception rather than the rule.”
A June article in The Independent described the drafting process.
For previous articles on plans for a bill in Egypt see this FreedomInfo.org article.
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