Saudi Arabia, UAE move to boycott Qatari press

Saudi Arabia, UAE move to boycott Qatari press
Sun Mar 9, 2014 17:27:08

Saudi and Emirati pundits have quit major media outlets in Qatar, including the broadcaster of top-flight European football as tensions soar between Doha and Persian Gulf states.

Saudi columnist Samar al-Mogren, who writes for Al-Arab Qatari daily, tweeted on Sunday that the "Saudi ministry of culture and information has decided to end the collaboration of Saudi writers with Qatari newspapers."

She said that two other Saudi writers, Saleh al-Shehi and Ahmed bin Rashed al-Saeed, had also stopped writing for Qatari newspapers based on the ministry's orders.

In an unprecedented decision on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their envoys to Qatar, which they accused of meddling in their internal affairs by supporting Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

Doha has dismissed the charge, citing instead differences in regional politics.

Another writer, Muhanna al-Hubail, had received similar orders from the ministry, said Mogren.

Meanwhile, Emirati commentators and analysts announced they had quit BeIn Sports, which exclusively broadcasts matches from the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga to millions of football fans across the Middle East.

Ali Saeed Al Kaabi and Fares Awad announced on Twitter Saturday their resignation from BeIn, without giving any reasons.

Emirati football pundit Sultan Rashed said he would stop contributing to BeIn, while analyst Hassan al-Jassmi said he would no longer appear on both BeIn and Alkass, another Qatari sports channel.

Qatar is a staunch supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood which Egyptian Saudi-backed government has announced as a terrorist group.

SHI/SHI

string(1093) "[{"id":"1562391","sort":"3177326","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/02/04/alalam_635271177926315235_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"UAE angered by Qaradawi ‘insults’, summons Qatar envoy"} ,{"id":"1570244","sort":"3177327","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/02/27/alalam_635290889598342300_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Riyadh threatens Qatar over Muslim Brotherhood support"} ,{"id":"1570396","sort":"3177328","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/02/27/alalam_635291210812321327_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"12 killed, 30 injured in Qatar gas tank blast"} ,{"id":"1572504","sort":"3177329","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/03/05/alalam_635296246280819443_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Deep division in PGCC; S Arabia, Bahrain, UAE recall envoys to Qatar"} ,{"id":"1572791","sort":"3177330","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/03/06/alalam_635296979980902652_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Tiny state, big mission; ‘Qatar behind Bahrain bombing’"} ,{"id":"1573234","sort":"3177331","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/03/07/alalam_635298104991563895_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Details of possible sanctions by Arab states against Qatar"} ]"