Saudi blasphemy case filed against TV channel - report

BLASPHEMY CASE: A blasphemy case has been filed in a Saudi court against Al Arabiya, the TV channel which was first to interview new US president Barack Obama.

A case has been filed in Saudi Arabia against TV news station Al Arabiya for allegedly making fun of Islam, it was reported on Thursday.

The blasphemy allegations have been lodged with the summary court in Jeddah, according to Muhammad Mirdad, a judge at the court but Al Arabiya said it had not received official notification of the case.

In comments published by Arab News, 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 case has been transferred to the justice minister in order for him to pass it on to the Ministry of Culture and Information, the paper added.

The litigants allege the channel ridiculed God, the Last Prophet, Angel Gabriel and the Sayings of the Prophet, Arab News said, without giving further details about which programme the case referred to.

Khaled Al-Matrafi, of Al Arabiya, 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.

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