MANAMA/KUWAIT CITY, 10 June 2003 — Bahrain Information Minister Nabeel Al-Hamer announced a policy of zero tolerance toward attempts by newspapers “to incite the public through negligent press reports that promote sectarianism and sabotage the reforms launched in the kingdom,” it was reported yesterday.
His statement came after several judges filed complaints against the editor-in-chief of Akbar Al-Khaleej, Anwar Abdulrahamn, after the paper reported the story of a mother who went on hunger strike after her daughters were taken away from her by her ex-husband.
The coverage, claimed the judges, stained their characters. The editor was interrogated by Bahrain’s public prosecutor and released on bail pending a further hearing. “We have all to be aware that there is a huge difference between benefiting from freedom and abusing freedom,” said Al-Hamer.
In Kuwait, the editor of daily Al-Watan said yesterday he was questioned by the country’s public prosecutor for urging the emirate’s Al-Sabah ruling family not to meddle in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
“I was referred to the public prosecutor in a bid to deter others” from making similar remarks, Mohammed Abdul Kader Al-Jassem said. He was summoned by the public prosecutor after taking part in a public meeting on Saturday night during which he made the remarks, not in his capacity as a journalist.
