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Kuwait shuts down Al Jazeera news bureau

By the CNN Wire Staff
Morocco also recently shut down the offices of Al Jazeera in the country and withdrew its accreditation.
Morocco also recently shut down the offices of Al Jazeera in the country and withdrew its accreditation.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Kuwait shut down an Al Jazeera office, saying it was "meddling in the internal affairs" of the country
  • The network did not comply with warnings not to broadcast "any news about the recent events"
  • The shut-down followed the network's coverage of police dispersing protesters
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(CNN) -- Kuwait has shut down an Al Jazeera news office after accusing the network of "meddling in the internal affairs of Kuwait," a Ministry of Information official told the country's news agency.

The Arabic-language satellite news network did not comply with ministerial warnings not to broadcast "any news about the recent events," Ministry of Information official Faisal Al-Mutalgem said in a written statement Monday to the Kuwait News Agency.

The closure follows the network's coverage last week of an unauthorized demonstration north of Kuwait City, in which police used force to disperse the participants, according to a statement from Reporters without Borders.

Demonstrators, including some 10 parliamentarians, were protesting a proposal to amend the country's 1962 constitution, the statement said. Several of the protesters were hospitalized after police began hitting them with batons, Reporters Without Borders said.

Kuwait had warned news organizations not to exploit the incident "but the TV channel did not comply with the warning" and aired video of the protest, resulting in the suspension of its operating license and closure of its office on Monday, the news agency reported.

"Al Jazeera Network regrets the decision of the Kuwaiti authorities to close down Al Jazeera's office in Kuwait," the network said in a statement.

The network has denied the charge of meddling and says that it was just doing its job, vowing "to continue to cover Kuwaiti affairs with full professionalism and balance," the statement said.

Kuwait previously shut down the office in November 2002, prior to the U.S. led-invasion of Iraq, Al Jazeera reported.

It later reopened in May 2005, the network said.

CNN's Saad Abedine contributed to this report