From: wolda002@umn.edu
Date: Tue Jul 28 2009 - 23:43:45 EDT
Dubai newspaper suspended over article
Monday 06 July 2009
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The United Arab Emirates' most popular
newspaper suspended publication Monday for 20 days in compliance with a
court ruling after being sued for a story alleging some of the Abu Dhabi
ruling family's horses were doped.
The suspension against the Arabic-language Al Emarat Al Youm was issued
last week by the Abu Dhabi Federal Supreme Court, which is the highest
court of the Emirates. The court also imposed fines of 20,000 dirhams
($5,445) on the paper's editor and chief executive.
According to official documents, the newspaper was suspended for
"intentionally publishing inaccurate and untrue information" about horses
owned by two sons of Sheik Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a prominent member
of Abu Dhabi's ruling family and the Emirates' former deputy prime
minister. The newspaper in a 2006 article alleged that their horses were
drugged to enhance performance.
The stable owners sued the newspaper, editor Sami al-Reyami and chief
executive Abdullatif al-Sayegh for libel and defamation.
A lower court ordered the suspension, but the newspaper appealed to the
high court.
Al-Reyami and al-Sayegh could not immediately be reached for comment on
Monday.
The Dubai-based Arab Media Group, the newspaper's owner, said in a brief
statement the group was "committed to the laws and regulations of the UAE
and will fully adhere to the court's decision with immediate effect." The
group is a division of Dubai Holding, run by the Dubai's ruling Sheik
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The 59-year-old sheik owns several stables, hosts the world's most
lucrative horse race in Dubai every year and rides endurance races.
Several newspapers in the Emirates reported the horse Mohammed rode in
120-kilometer (74.5-mile) endurance races at Bahrain in January and Dubai
in February failed doping tests. But local media typically avoid stories
that could upset Emirati officials, rarely questioning rulers' decisions in
print and on the air.
The practice has recently been strengthened by the country's pending media
law that includes a staggering fine of $1.35 million for "insulting"
members of the ruling elite and up to $136,000 for "carrying misleading
news that harms the national economy."