JEDDAH, 15 March 2005 — The London-based Al-Quds newspaper apologized to Abdullah Al-Faisal Group (AFG) and its president yesterday for publishing a defamatory article against the group.
The newspaper published a report on Dec. 15, 2004, about an alleged poll conducted by AFG about the popularity of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in Saudi Arabia. It also published alleged quotes from AFG President Prince Mohammed ibn Khaled Al-Faisal.
The paper’s public apology came after the group threatened to slap a lawsuit against the paper unless it retracted the false story and apologized.
Yesterday’s retraction conceded that the report was inaccurate, and that AFG did not conduct an opinion poll about Bin Laden, nor was such poll in its line of business. The paper added that Prince Mohammed ibn Khaled Al-Faisal did not issue any statement to the paper. The paper pulled out the article from its website.
