Iraq's interim authority closes Al-Arabiya Baghdad office

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Iraq's interim authority closes Al-Arabiya Baghdad office

The US-backed Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) announced on Monday that it had banned Dubai-based al-Arabiya television from reporting in Iraq due to its broadcast of Saddam Hussein's message.

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The US-backed Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) announced on Monday that it had banned Dubai-based al-Arabiya television from reporting in Iraq due to its broadcast of Saddam Hussein's message.

Under the issued order, Iraqi police raided the pan-Arab channel's office in Baghdad and froze everything, saying that they will close it until al-Arabiya presents a written pledge that it no longer incites violence.

Al-Arabiya said around 20 policemen raided the offices in the Iraqi capital and confiscated all the transmission equipments.

The rotating IGC president for November, Jalal Talabani, said the council decided to ban the channel's work and sue the company because it "encouraged murder" by airing Saddam's Ramadan message.

"We consider Saddam as a criminal, a war criminal and an executioner," said the Kurdish leader.

On Nov. 16, al-Arabiya broadcast an audio tape purportedly from the ousted strongman, in the name of whom the speaker called for more attacks on US-led coalition forces.

Since then, a number of Iraqi policemen and US-backed officials have been assassinated in abductions or shootings.

Last week also witnessed four car bombings targeting two police stations, a pro-US tribal leader and a Kurdish party, in which two dozen Iraqis were killed and more than 40 others wounded.

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