Arab satellite channel fined for not airing royal interview

Dec 31, 2009, 9:20 GMT

Dubai - Al-Arabiya, the satellite TV news channel, has been fined by a Dubai court for not airing an interview it conducted with a Saudi royal, a newspaper reported Thursday.

A civil court in Dubai ordered al-Arabiya, which is funded by Saudia Arabia but based in Dubai, to pay 100,000 dirhams (27,220 dollars) in civil compensation to Prince Doctor Saif al-Islam Bin Saud Bin Abdel-Aziz al-Saud.

'The channel failed to adhere to the media code of ethics and breached the nobility and morality of journalism,' the court ruled, according to the daily Gulf News.

The judge in the case also said al-Arabiya should apologize.

While the channel had advertised the interview, the prince never got his time on air, as executives pulled the piece.

The Saudi royal, seeking 500,000 dirhams in compensation, had alleged in court that the 'failure to broadcast the televised interview inflicted emotional, moral and social damage on the prince's status as a royal and academic.'

Furthermore, 'his fame was affected before his family, students and the social circles to which he belongs,' the papers his lawyers filed alleged.

The television station, owned in part by Saudi Arabia's MBC network, has appealed the verdict, which the lower court said was 'symbolic.' A new ruling from a superior judge is expected on January 12.