AL ARABIYA TV SUED FOR BLASPHEMY

Al Arabiya TV sued for 'blasphemy' Muhammad Humaidan I Arab News

JEDDAH: A case has been filed against the popular news channel, Al Arabiya, at the summary court in Jeddah for allegedly making fun of Islam, said Muhammad Mirdad, a judge at the court. Mirdad said Abdullah Al-Othaim, the chief judge at the court, had received the case, which has been lodged by a group of citizens. The court then transferred the case to the justice minister in order for him to pass it on to the Ministry of Culture and Information. The litigants have also presented evidence in the form of pictures and audio recording to support their case. They allege the channel has ridiculed God, the Last Prophet (peace be upon him), Angel Gabriel and the Sayings of the Prophet. "This will not make God happy nor His Prophet as well as Muslims who are enthusiastic about their religion, especially as we are in the land of the Two Holy Mosques and the place of revelation where God has helped its leaders to implement Shariah, support His religion and call others to it," the lawsuit said. Khaled Al-Matrafi of Al Arabiya channel told Arab News that he had not received any official information about the issue. "We have a legal department to follow up and deal with such cases," he added. The case has been transferred to the Ministry of Culture and Information in line with a Saudi publications law issued in 1421 AH. Al-Yami's admission In a related development, Mirdad, who presided over the case of the Saudi sex braggart, Mazen Abdul Jawad, said the verdict against woman journalist Rozanna Al-Yami was based on her admission in court that she is not a journalist, but a university student who was cooperating with a media organization. "With regard to the second defendant, Eman Al-Rajab, another woman journalist, we transferred her case to the Ministry of Culture and Information when she told the court that she is a media person," the judge told Arab News. Speaking about cameraman Omar Felamban, Mirdad said the verdict issued against him was not related to his media activity but because of his confession that he had publicized one of the episodes of the program via e-mail. He said the episode was related to sexual weakness, adding that the episode cannot be recognized as proper journalism. The defendant presented on Wednesday a petition through his lawyer, saying he was uncertain about the title of the episode. "We'll look into his case on Saturday and ascertain whether he was honest in his petition." Mirdad also said that judges try to carry out their duties in the right manner. "But most people do not look into the reasons behind court verdicts."