Abu Dhabi: Attorney General bans media coverage of murder case
The case has been referred to the Public Prosecution
Abu Dhabi: A young Emirati man was arrested for killing 3 members of his family in Al Ain. The defendant was arrested by Abu Dhabi Police and the case has been referred to the Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution.
Ali Mohammed Alblooshi, Attorney General of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, has banned all media coverage of the case. According to the statement issued on Tuesday, the ban concerns all written, audio and visual media as well as social media platforms.
The decision released by the Attorney General also prohibits the expression of any personal opinion and commentary on the case, the mention of names of persons in the course of commentary on the case, whether explicitly or implicitly, under pain of prosecution, until the issuance of the indictment and the referral of the case by the Public Prosecution to the competent court.
The statement reads: “The media and social networking platforms have recently released many false reports on the case originating from non-competent sources, creating confusion in the community and undermining social peace, due to the rash and irresponsible way in which the information was disseminated far from the standards of credibility and respect for the privacy of the victim family.
“In this context, the Public Prosecution initiated an investigation with a media agency and a natural person for giving false information about the enquiries related to the case without being specialised in the matter.
“The Attorney General of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi stated that the Public Prosecution has opened an investigation into the murder case and has taken the necessary legal measures. He stressed that the prohibition of media handling of the case is dictated by legal precautions so as not to influence the course of the investigations or compromise the safety of the community, and in order to preserve the rights and the private life of the parties to the case which are protected by law.”