President Obama signs new press protection law named for late journalist Daniel Pearl
President Obama signs a new law providing more protection for a free press around the world and named for the late journalist Daniel Pearl on Monday.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the press before signing the Freedom of Press Act in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, May 17, 2010. Alongside Obama are members of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl's family including his wife Mariane (3rd L) and their son Adam Pearl (2nd L).
REUTERS/Jason Reed
Washington, D.C.
President Barack Obama has signed a law intended to provide more protections for a free press around the world.
The law, the Daniel Pearl Freedom of Press Act, expands efforts to identify countries where press freedom is being violated. The law is named after Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was beheaded by militants in Pakistan in 2002.
The law expands an annual report on human rights practices to include information about media treatment, and identify countries where the media is being repressed.
Obama said the law would be a signal to governments around the world that their actions, including treatment of the media, are being watched.
He was joined for the signing ceremony in the Oval Office by Pearl's widow, Mariane, and Pearl's parents and son.