Govt officials urged to withdraw ‘cases against tweeters’

A parliamentarian has urged government officials to withdraw all cases against citizens who criticised them on social media. Tweeters and social media users who have been hit with court cases for criticising government officials should not be prosecuted, parliamentarians opined.

They gave a thumbs down to the phenomenon, stating that such a thing should not happen.  One of the movers of the motion, MP Muhammad Al Abbasi, had strong words to share as he said that anyone holding public office must be strong enough to hear critisim from citizens or leave position.  MP Ammar Qamber said, “It is not our intention to interfere with judicial affairs but we wish to convey that government officials and agencies should be withdrawing such cases.” 

“When citizens tweet, they are expressing their opinion and sharing their voice with the country. This should not be a reason to file cases against them,” he added. Meanwhile, MPs yesterday praised the government’s decision to cancel fees for 200 government services.

The Cabinet chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, on Monday, decided to exempt the fees of 200 government services from 11 government agencies. As a result, 400 government services have now been exempted from fees.

The Cabinet instructed the Minister of Finance and National Economy, to co-ordinate with government agencies, to undertake the necessary technical and legal procedures. The decision is in line with the royal directives of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to take into account the needs of citizens when setting government fees.

It is also based on the recommendations of the Government Executive Committee, chaired by HRH the Crown Prince. HRH the Crown Prince then directed that mechanisms be established to facilitate the provision of direct government subsidies to citizens in accordance with the approved regulations while maintaining the criteria currently in place, in order to ease the process for citizens benefiting from the cash subsidy programme.