Syria bans Saudi daily for publishing critical articles

Damascus: In a further sign of deteriorating Syrian-Saudi relations, the London-based Saudi daily Al Hayat was banned in Syria, with no immediate indication of the duration of the ban.

The step comes nearly two years after Al Sharq Al Awsat, another Saudi daily, was banned in Syria for publishing articles considered critical of the Syrian government.

The latest decision was taken by the Ministry of Information, citing anti-Syrian articles published in the mass circulation daily Al Hayat from its Paris, London and Beirut offices.

Coinciding with the ministry's decision came the resignation of Ebrahim Hamidi, the newspaper's chief of bureau and senior correspondent in Syria.

Hamidi, who had served as Al Hayat's man in Damascus since the early 1990s, told Gulf News: "I couldn't take it anymore! I terminated my work with Al Hayat because I cannot be part of a newspaper that is engaged in a systematic campaign against Syria."

Hamidi strongly denied having been harassed or having been told to resign by the Syrian authorities.

"That is not true. It was strictly my own decision. My conscience told me that it was wrong to continue with a newspaper that was becoming increasingly anti-Syrian," he said.

"The Ministry's decision to stop distribution and my resignation are not related."

He added: "When they informed us that the ban would be implemented, we were clearly told that this was directed neither at me nor against the Damascus office of Al Hayat, but at the newspaper itself. The Damascus office continues, only I won't be there anymore and will be shifting to some other media outlet."

Hamidi, who had taken over his job from his predecessor, Abdullah Dardari (current Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs), is considered one of the top journalists in Syria.

He has also contributed to Al Wasat magazine, The Daily Star in Beirut and served as correspondent for LBC.

Hamidi covered the Syrian-Israeli peace process in the 1990s and in 2002-2003, he spent five months in jail for allegedly "spreading false information" in Al Hayat. A Syrian court later found him innocent.