Online magazine shut down for defamation
Editor of website convicted and fined AED20,000 in case filed by the Abu Dhabi Media Company.
January 16, 2010 6:06 by kippreport
A UAE online magazine has been shut down for one month and ordered to pay AED10,000 in damages for defamation, according to a report in Gulf News.
The Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals also upheld a AED20,000 fine against the e-magazine Hetta. The magazine’s editor, Ahmad Mohammad Bin Gareeb, was convicted and fined AED20,000.
The case was filed by the Abu Dhabi Media Company, which objected to comments – which were posted by users of the site – to an article about the administration of TV channels in the UAE.
Last year, the UAE daily Emarat Alyoum was suspended for 20 days, and its editor fined AED20,000, over an article it published in October 2006 which alleged that a UAE-based company gave steroids to local race horses owned by the Abu Dhabi royal family. Human Rights Watch criticized the ruling, which it said “further undermines press freedom in the United Arab Emirates”.
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2 Comments
Is anyone syurprised by this? We all know there is no freedom of the press here.
Superb! A large media company with plenty of cash shuts down a small operator in a David and Goliath case. Another win for media diversity in the UAE.