A special committee, set up in Syria in late May to draft a law on the country's media, has finished its work, a committee member told RIA Novosti.
The law will soon be considered by members of the national dialog, and a public discussion will follow. If adopted, the law would make Syria the fourth country in the region where authorities scrapped information ministry, after Iraq, Tunisia and Egypt.
"Up until now, a journalist can be sent to prison for an article, which, for example, is seen by censors as "undermining people's morale. The new law guarantees media freedom. Its second article states that the media enjoys "independence and freedom." It [media freedom] is limited only by the constitution," the source said.
The law will set up a special court to deal with all cases related to the media's freedom and responsibility.
The media law is part of broad political reforms, announced by the Syrian authorities after protests broke out in the south of the country in early March and later spread to other regions.
Human rights groups say more than 1,350 protestors have been killed by security forces since the uprising began. Official reports, which blame "armed terrorists" for the violence, put the death toll at 340 police and servicemen.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of State accused the Syrian government and security forces of "repression and harassment of peaceful demonstrators and opposition members" and called on Syrian authorities to end arrests and withdraw security forces from protest-hit cities.
"We urge the government of Syria to immediately halt its intimidation and arrest campaign, pull its security forces back from Hama and other cities, and allow the Syrian people to express their opinions freely so that a genuine transition to democracy can take place," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
