(RSF/IFEX) – In a 23 June 1999 letter sent to the Emir of Kuwait, RSF requested the reopening of the Qatar-based TV station bureau in Kuwait City, urging him to ensure that press freedom is guaranteed in the emirate. RSF argued that, as the Kuwaiti information minister blamed the channel for broadcasting insults against the […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a 23 June 1999 letter sent to the Emir of Kuwait, RSF
requested the reopening of the Qatar-based TV station bureau in Kuwait City,
urging him to ensure that press freedom is guaranteed in the emirate. RSF
argued that, as the Kuwaiti information minister blamed the channel for
broadcasting insults against the emir of Kuwait, made by a caller from
Norway, the TV channel should not be held responsible for an incident that
occurred in a live programme.
**Updates earlier IFEX alert of 23 June 1999**
On 19 June, Information Minister Youssef al-Sumait issued the order of
closure, banning “any media activity by Al-Jazeera or any other activity in
Kuwait.” Last week, the TV station showed a series of interviews with the
main candidates running in Kuwait’s 3 July parliamentary elections.
