Human Rights Watch has accused the United Arab Emirates of a "serious attack" on press freedom after a newspaper was suspended for reporting the alleged doping of race horses owned by UAE royalty.
An Abu Dhabi court order for Emarat Al-Youm to shut down for three weeks was a move that "further undermines press freedom in the United Arab Emirates", HRW said on Thursday.
HRW, quoting UAE daily Al-Ittihad, said Emarat Al-Youm Editor-in-Chief Sami al-Araimi was also fined 20,000 dirhams ($5,445) for a 2006 story that "a UAE-based company gave steroids to local race horses owned by the Abu Dhabi royal family".
"Even if the article was not accurate, shutting down the newspaper for three weeks is totally disproportionate and a serious attack on press freedom," said HRW Middle East Director Sarah Leah Whitson.
"This can only further intimidate news organisations that investigate and criticise the government and will deepen the already pervasive culture of self-censorship," she said.
The New York-based rights watchdog said the suspension "demonstrates why the UAE should revise its draft media law", a call already made in April.
"The draft law, if passed in its current form, would include even more exorbitant civil penalties that could bankrupt media outlets and silence dissenting voices," it said.
"It would also give the government power to suspend the licenses of newspapers, radio stations and television channels for insignificant infractions."
An HRW study released in April said the bill, which would replace a 1980 law, falls short of international free speech standards, as it continues to insulate public figures from media criticism.
Emarat Al-Youm is run by the Arab Media Group, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, which is owned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum.
Abu Dhabi is one of the seven emirates making up the United Arab Emirates and Dubai is another.