Sunday Times removed from newsstands in UAE

Posted by Press Gazette on 30 November 2009 at 10:42
Tags: International, Journalism, National Newspapers, Newspapers, press freedom

News International’s Sunday Times newspaper was removed from shelves in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday after it ran a series of critical reports about Dubai’s debt problems.

The National Media Council of the UAE ordered that distribution of the paper should be blocked this weekend.

The Wall Street Journal reported an executive from the paper saying the Media Council didn’t give a justification for pulling distribution.

The paper featured a double-page spread graphic illustrating Dubai’s ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum sinking in a sea of debt.

A government official in Abu Dhabi said that the picture of Sheik Mohammed was “offensive.”

Strict media rules prevent publications in the UAE from criticising the sheikdom’s rulers.

Tags: International, Journalism, National Newspapers, Newspapers, press freedom