Bahrain to sue Turkish channel for insult

Manama : The Bahraini House of Representatives will sue a Turkey-based satellite channel that has been insulting the GCC leaders and policies, DT News has learnt.

MP Jamal Buhassan confirmed to DT News yesterday that he, on behalf of the Council, was initiating a lawsuit against the banned Muslim-brotherhood movement supporting channel El Sharq.

Buhassan said he had prepared comprehensive files of the channel’s criticism targeting the GCC States and leaders.

“The files have been sent to a team of attorneys in Turkey, who will adopt the case. Our aim is to shutdown this inciting channel,” the MP commented.

According to Buhassan, “the channel’s policy is to defame and target the GCC States.” “It’s owned and managed by Egyptian politician Ayman Nour, who lives in exile. This man is known for his sympathy with the Muslim-brotherhood, which has been labeled by many countries in the world, including Egypt and the GCC countries, as a terrorist organisation,” he explained.

The lawmaker also informed that the channel is managed by offices in Turkey and is broadcasting from Cyprus.

Moreover, Buhassan informed that a meeting between the Turkish Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Hatun Demirer, and him will be held tomorrow to further discuss the matter and convey the Council’s rejection of such demeanours.

The channel has repeatedly attacked the GCC countries through its programmes. It intensified its campaign following the visits of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to Egypt.

What aroused public anger was a recent episode of a cookery show, in which the chef and the TV host openly criticised and insulted the Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah El Sisi, and His Majesty the King.

Buhassan reaffirmed that he was positively supported by the people of Bahrain and the House of Representatives, who expressed their condemnation of such media behaviours.