The Human Rights Commission is to take the "unprecedented step" of writing to the United Nations about Premier Ewart Brown's press gag against The Royal Gazette and Mid-Ocean News.

The commissioners held a special meeting yesterday afternoon to discuss whether Dr. Brown's order to Government communications officers to reduce contact with the two newspapers is unlawful.

HRC chairman Venous Memari told this newspaper afterwards that the commissioners agreed to write to Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to seek guidance.

They will also get independent legal advice about the edict, which Dr. Brown told us last week was aimed at preventing "a total breakdown of communication between the Premier's office and these publications".

Ms Memari said the HRC had a statutory duty to encourage an understanding of the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Bermuda Constitution.

As such, she said: "The HRC is considering whether the order issued by the Premier, if true, is an infringement of freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the Bermuda Constitution, the European Convention of Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Ms Memari, a lawyer, explained that freedom of expression entails two separate rights — the right to impart and the right to receive information.

She said: "Our preliminary view is based on the European Court which has stated that 'where… measures taken by the national authorities are capable of discouraging the press from disseminating information on matters of legitimate public concern, careful scrutiny of the proportionality of the measure on the part of the court is called for'."

Ms Memari said that since The Royal Gazette was the Island's only daily newspaper, it was the sole source of information for citizens without access to the Internet or other forms of media.

"Whilst this places a monumental duty on The Royal Gazette to report accurately and objectively, a breach of the right to freedom of expression poses a far greater danger to democracy than any biased media," she said.

"The HRC is therefore taking the unprecedented step to write and seek guidance from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on this issue. In the meantime, the HRC will also seek independent legal advice."

If the commissioners are advised that the Premier's action was unlawful, it is likely they will write to Dr. Brown asking him to rescind the order, before making a public statement on the matter.

The Premier's command to curtail the flow of information from the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Tourism and Transport to this newspaper and our sister weekly title primarily affects his press secretary Glenn Jones, plus a public affairs officer at the Department of Communication and Information (DCI).

Mr. Jones was told in an e-mail last month by the Premier to keep the two newspapers "out of the loop" until further notice and that the same restriction should apply to any DCI representative issuing information about Cabinet or Tourism and Transport. Dr. Brown's decision has been condemned by the editors of the two newspapers, other local journalists and the Opposition, as well international media watchdogs.

The Inter American Press Association said it was detrimental to citizens and restricted their right to know, while Agnes Callamard, executive director of Article 19, the global campaign for freedom of expression, said: "Premier Ewart Brown's decision is illegitimate, in violation of international human rights standards regarding freedom of expression, and imperils democracy in Bermuda."

David Banisar, of human rights group Privacy International, said: "I would say that it shows how desperately there is a need for a freedom of information law to prevent governments from trying to control information."

He added that telling officials not to speak to certain reporters because of a dislike of their perceived slant was a "clear violation of international human rights law".

The PLP likened its leader's stance to US president Barack Obama, claiming that he "froze out" Fox News during his election campaign last year.

But Mr. Obama was interviewed on Fox on the Bill O'Reilly show in the election run-up and at the weekend both men attended the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, where the president told journalists and politicians: "A government without newspapers, a government without a tough and vibrant media of all sorts, is not an option for the United States of America."

Party chairman David Burt did not respond to questions about whether the PLP was suggesting that Mr. Obama had ever ordered officers in publicly paid for posts — as opposed to his campaign staff — to sever communication with Fox since becoming president.

Press releases from Mr. Jones and the DCI officer for Tourism were received by The Royal Gazette yesterday.

We asked if there had been a change of heart regarding the gag and were told it remains in place.