JEDDAH: The Ministry of Information has closed down the Riyadh office of poetry channel Al-Saha.
The decision was made because the television channel does not have a license to operate in the Kingdom. Members of the public also complained that Al-Saha was airing poem recitals that attacked various tribes, causing tribal conflicts.
Local newspapers on Thursday quoted ministry spokesman Abdul Rahman Al-Haza as saying that the channel’s office was closed down on Tuesday and the case transferred to the ministry’s violations committee.
Al-Haza added that poetry channels were not being exclusively targeted.
He said the ministry had only taken action because the channel did not have a license.
Al-Saha previously aired a poem where a poet attacked a tribe, leading to complaints from the tribe’s members. Channel officials publicly apologized and three employees were sacked last year.
The ministry had previously closed down the LBC channel’s offices after a sex braggart appeared on one of its programs last year.
