Kuwait orders 2 newspapers shut over coup articles
KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Kuwait's state news agency says the government has temporarily suspended the publication of two independent newspapers over articles about a secret probe into allegations of a coup plot to overthrow the Gulf monarchy's government.
KUNA carried a statement Sunday by the Information Ministry saying Al Watan and Alam Al Yawm newspapers had violated a prosecutor-ordered media blackout of the investigation.
The ministry says a judge ordered the newspapers to stop printing for two weeks after they published information about the investigation he said could harm the public's interest.
Deputy editor-in-chief at Al Watan, Waleed Al-Jassim, said his newspaper regrets the government's decision, but plans to contest the ruling. He says the newspaper's website will stay online because it falls under a different jurisdiction.
