Lawyer threatens action against court over MBC lawsuit
Published: Jul 19, 2010 23:47 Updated: Jul 22, 2010 03:44
JEDDAH: A Saudi lawyer has said he will sue Riyadh’s summary court after it refused to consider his lawsuit against satellite television channel MBC.
Ahmad Al-Rashid told Arab News on Monday that the court told him to contact the Ministry of Culture and Information’s media violations committee. He had accused MBC of encouraging deviant behavior in Saudi society.
He also threatened to take his case to the Supreme Judicial Council, adding that the summary court had told him it was not the relevant judiciary to hear his lawsuit.
“I will not go to the ministry. The court should have heard my case as it did with other similar cases, including the case against the sex braggart Mazen Abdul Jawad, which involved another television channel,” he said.
He added that he was not convinced that the ministry’s media violations committee was the right body to examine the case.
“I will voice my objections against the summary court to the chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council and will call for a review of the entire judicial system. It is not logical that one rule is applied only for certain cases and not for other similar ones,” he said.
Al-Rashid criticized perceived double standards in the legal system and also called on the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice to intervene in such matters to protect society against immoral behavior.

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MEHREEN
Jul 20, 2010 18:23
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