UK: Reprieve For Amnesty

The Radio Authority has reversed an earlier decision which ruled out the human rights’ lobbying group Amnesty International – which acts on behalf of political prisoners – from being allowed to advertise on radio. The earlier decision was based on an argument that Amnesty was a politically-motivated body; the 1990 Broadcasting Act says radio stations may not carry ads “inserted by or on behalf of any body whose objects are wholly or mainly of a political nature.” Amnesty challenged that ruling in the courts, but the Radio Authority’s decision was initially upheld and then again in the Court of Appeal. However, the Radio Authority now says that “the Court of Appeal’s judgement provides further clarification of the law in this difficult area and sets out new principles to which regard should be had in arriving at a decision. It also enabled Amnesty to construct a clearer exposition and more detailed analysis of its case. Having considered all this information, we are now satisfied that a sufficient proportion of Amnesty’s objects is non-political.”