UAE: Publisher Intl. Media Investments faces censorship allegations after firing "dozens" of employees following coverage of high fuel prices; incl. co. comments
要約
Date Reported: 2022年9月13日
場所: アラブ首長国連邦
企業
International Media Investments (IMI) - Other Value Chain Entity , Al Roeya Newspaper - Employer関連
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
労働者: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , メディア及び出版: 一般 , Gender not reported )課題
表現の自由の否定 , 威嚇及び脅迫回答
Response sought: いいえ
取られた措置: 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.
情報源のタイプ: 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