Gulf | Bahrain
Bahrain's oldest newspaper indefinitely suspended
Bahrain's oldest newspaper in circulation, Akhbar Al Khaleej, has been suspended until further notice, the paper website and the official news agency have said.
- By Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau Chief
- Published: 14:01 June 22, 2009
Manama: Bahrain's oldest newspaper in circulation, Akhbar Al Khaleej, has been suspended until further notice, the paper website and the official news agency have said.
The suspension is related to the 2002 Press and Publications Law, Bahrain News Agency said in a brief statement, but no reason was mentioned for the highly unusual move in Bahrain's press history.
"Following orders from the competent authorities conveyed after midnight to Akhbar Al Khaleej's chairman and editor in chief Anwar Abdul Rahman, the newspaper has been suspended until further notice for reasons related to the Press Law," the newspaper said on its website. "Taking into consideration the orders, the newspaper was not published and was informed about the ban just a short time before the printing process was about to begin." The online edition of today's issue was not posted.
Sources told Gulf News that the suspension of the newspaper was related to the publication on Sunday of an op-ed by Sameera Rajab, a regular columnist with the pan-Arabist newspaper, in which she attacked the Iranian regime and its supporters.
Bahrain Journalists Association protested against the suspension, expressing solidarity with the newspaper and urging the information ministry to reconsider its decision.
"The suspension of Akhbar Al Khaleej undermines the freedom of expression that all journalists in Bahrain seek to consolidate with the publication of the new Press law," the association, an umbrella for 350 Bahrain-based journalists, said.
In her 1,168-word piece titled "Islamic Republic - Popular Fury", Sameera wrote that Iran's leaders have often considered themselves as God's representatives on Earth and as saints ruling over a saint republic.
"However, the real Islamic Republic of Iran is today fully exposed to the world after the ruling elite have crossed their limits in their lies, deception, egoism and conflicts to serve their interests… In the largest forged elections, the fathers of the Islamic revolution in Iran have revealed their true identity," she wrote before launching personal attacks against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Journalists and the press are banned, according to Article 70 of the 2002 Press Law, from publishing articles attacking "the king or president of an Arab or Islamic country, or any other country that has diplomatic relations with Bahrain."
In June and July 2005, hundreds of angry Shiites staged a rally in front of the offices of Al Ayam, a liberal daily, to protest against the publication of a cartoon that appeared to claim that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had a direct role in the results of the Iranian elections that brought Ahmadinejad to power.
Carrying pictures of Khamenei, the protestors demanded that King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa intervene to put an end to what they described as attempts to stoke up sectarianism in the community.
The High Scholars Council, a body of top Shiite leaders in Bahrain, called for three-month long boycott of the newspaper.
Share this article
Popular in News
News Editor's choice
-
King Tut's tomb set for project
Observers note strange brown spots marring lavish wall paintings
-
Thieves caught with Dh6m in gold
Twenty-five gold bars were stolen from the luggage of a Malaysian tradesman
-
What to expect at the Dubai Airshow
We preview what types of aircraft to expect at the Dubai Airshow
