A Kuwaiti court on Tuesday deferred a decision on whether to suspend a previous verdict to sell the movable assets of the local office of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera channel in connection with a libel suit, reported the official Kuwaiti news agency, KUNA.
The issuance of the new verdict was postponed until until August 7.
The sale is connected to a libel suit filed against the channel and newscaster Sami Haddad by 22 Kuwaiti nationals last September.
In April, the court of first instance ordered the channel to pay KD5,001(about $16,000) for accusing Kuwaitis of killing Palestinians and Iraqis after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991.
The defense lawyer of the channel appealed the verdict.
The libel suit, submitted by attorney Salah Al Hashem relates to a talkshow and charges Haddad with slandering the state of Kuwait, and intending to severely damage the image of the Kuwaiti people, under Article 227 of the Kuwaiti Civil Code.
The plaintiffs demand payment of KD5,001 in temporary compensation for damages to the national committee for POW and MIA affairs, which follows up on the cause of Kuwaiti prisoners allegedly held in Iraq.
Al Jazeera's office in Kuwait was closed temporarily last year. Kuwait accuses the station of taking the side of Iraq in its news coverage and talkshows, which are widely viewed in the Arab World – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
