Dubai suspends magazine for one month
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 31 July 2017 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Dubai suspends magazine for one month, 31 July 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a0efa4a4.html [accessed 23 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Dubai suspends magazine for one month
July 31, 2017 5:42 PM ET
Beirut, July 31, 2017--Authorities in Dubai should immediately reverse their one-month ban on the print and online editions of the weekly magazine Arabian Business, and should cease censoring the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
The Dubai media office on July 26 said Arabian Business' website had been blocked and "the distribution of its print edition halted for one month" following its publication, on July 19, of an article on dozens of real-estate projects in Dubai that it said were in liquidation, according to news reports. Two days later, Arabian Business removed the article from its website and posted an apology, saying that the piece was outdated, but not before some media outlets repeated its claims.
"Blanket censorship of a publication should not be an option," CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said from Washington, D.C. "Banning Arabian Business from publishing for a month because of an error is disproportionate and we urge authorities to rescind this order."
Sara Abdulkareem, of the Dubai Government Media Office, sent CPJ a July 26 statement from the Dubai Creative Clusters Authority (DCCA), which regulates office parks created for companies in a particular industry, such as the media, accusing Arabian Business of publishing false news based on inaccurate information and of violating the DCCA's rules. The DCCA did not respond to CPJ's emailed request for clarification.
An editor at Arabian Business declined to comment.
