Al Assad issues decree on Syria's media law

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad on Sunday issued a decree on a new media law that would ban journalists being jailed and also give them access to information, the official news agency Sana reported. Al Assad "issued the legislative decree of the media law," it said, without elaborating. The law partly liberalises repressive legislation under which journalists faced jail for, among other things, attacking "the prestige and dignity of the state, national unity and the morale of the army." Elias Murad, head of the journalists' union, told AFP that the association "has always demanded a modern press law to give Syrian media the chance to play a comprehensive role in providing the truth and serving society."