Taking accident victims' pics to be punishable offence

Doha

Taking and sharing of photographs of accident victims without the consent of people representing them could soon become a punishable offence in the country.

The Cabinet approved a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. 11 of 2004 on the issuance of the Penal Code, prohibiting the widely prevalent practice of sharing accident victims' pictures, mostly on the social media platforms.

"The proposed amendment aims mainly to punish anyone who captures or transmits pictures of the deceased or injured in accidents without the consent of their representatives, through devices of any kind,” the official Qatar News Agency reported.

Law No. 11 of 2004 already includes a set of articles that deal with calumny, defamation and secret disclosure.

Article 333 of the law states that “whoever illegally intrudes into another person’s private life and without consent” through different means, including “taking or transmitting somebody’s photographs or pictures of other persons in a private place using any type of device”, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year in prison and/or a fine not exceeding QR 5,000.

Similarly, Article 331 stipulates that “whoever spreads news, photographs or comments related to a person’s private life, or that of his family, even if true”, can be punished with a maximum jail term of one year and a fine of up to QR5,000, or either.

After the regular weekly Cabinet meeting chaired by HE the Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani at the Emiri Diwan, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud said the Cabinet also approved a number of draft decisions pertaining to the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC).

These include the approval of a draft decision of HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce on regulations that should be complied with by shops that “provide smoking tobacco and services pertaining to its derivatives (shisha)”. This comes in response to growing concerns over the health risks posed by shisha smoking in the country and the demand for stringent rules to curb the practice.

The Cabinet, also approved a draft decision of HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce concerning the general and specific requirements to be met by commercial, industrial and public establishments.