Qatar bans court reporting without prior permission
Dubai, Oct 5 (UNI) A local court in Qatar has banned journalists from covering court stories without obtaining prior permission from the courtroom presidents.
The decision, highly criticised by the local Arabic and English dailies, was a serious setback for media freedom in Qatar as coverage of court stories had exposed the public to crimes of officials and individuals alike, Gulf news quoted a journalist as saying.
''The Supreme Judicial Council has issued a decision restricting the entry of scribes into criminal, appeal courts and the Court of Cassation, the country's highest court, for the purpose of reporting,'' the Peninsula, a local English daily, wrote in a front page news article yesterday.
''Local newspapers will not be able to file court stories and proceedings any more as the judicial authorities have imposed a ban on the entry of journalists into courtrooms,'' it added.
Local
Arabic
daily
Al
Sharq
also
quoted
a
statement
by
the
Supreme
Judicial
Council
as
saying
that
''If
the
decision
is
violated
by
any
journalist,
it
would
be
tantamount
to
breach
of
law.''
UNI