UAE: Publisher Intl. Media Investments faces censorship allegations after firing "dozens" of employees following coverage of high fuel prices; incl. co. comments
Resumen
Fecha comunicada: 13 Sep 2022
Ubicación: Emiratos Árabes Unidos
Empresas
International Media Investments (IMI) - Other Value Chain Entity , Al Roeya Newspaper - EmployerAfectado
Total de personas afectadas: Número desconocido
Trabajadores: ( Número desconocido - Ubicación desconocida , Medios y publicidad: General , Gender not reported )Temas
Negación de la libertad de expresión , Intimidación y AmenazasRespuesta
Response sought: No
Medidas adoptadas: Al Roeya's publisher, International Media Investments (IMI), said the closure of the newspaper was not related to the incident and is because of expansion plans. They declined to provide a comment on the published story, even before Al Roeya was officially dissolved.
Tipo de fuente: News outlet
"Mass firing at UAE newspaper raises questions of censorship," 13 Sep 2022
The story about high fuel prices was safe, editors agreed, even under the strict press laws of the United Arab Emirates.
Instead, it unleashed a firestorm at Al Roeya newspaper in Dubai. Within days, top editors were interrogated. Within weeks, dozens of employees were fired and the print paper declared dissolved.
The newspaper’s publisher, Abu Dhabi-based International Media Investments, or IMI, said Al Roeya’s closure stems only from its transformation into a new Arabic language business outlet with CNN. However, eight people with direct knowledge of the newspaper’s mass firings told The Associated Press that the layoffs came in the immediate aftermath of the article on the UAE’s gas prices...
IMI declined to comment on the story published just weeks before Al Roeya’s announced closure. The company stressed its plans to launch CNN Business Arabic capped months long negotiations.
The UAE touts itself as liberal and open to business while continuing its repression... Censorship is rampant, online and offline... It limits the work that journalists are able to do.Cathryn Grothe, Middle East research analyst at Freedom House