UAE daily banned in defamation ruling

Jul 02, 2009 at 08:35

Arabic daily Emarat Al-Youm suspended for 20 days, editor-in-chief fined $5,500 over horse doping story.

UAE arabic daily Emarat Al-Youm has been suspended for 20 days and its editor-in-chief fined 20,000 dirhams ($5,448) for defamation relating to a 2006 story accusing a stable of giving steroids to horses.

The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal upheld a lower court's previous ruling on the case brought against the newspaper by the owners of Warsan Stables, UAE daily Gulf News reported on Thursday.

The UAE Journalists Association criticised the ban, which it said will damage to the UAE's reputation with international press freedom and human rights advocacy groups.

“Although we do not have the right to object a court ruling, but we reiterate our rejection of banning the newspaper or any other local newspaper from publishing, association Chairman Mohammad Yousuf was quoted as saying.