UAE newspaper shut down, its staff fired after fuel price report
The story about high fuel prices was safe, editors agreed, even under the strict press laws of the United Arab Emirates.
Instead, it unleashed a firestorm at Al Roeya newspaper in Dubai. Within days, top editors were interrogated. Within weeks, dozens of employees were fired and the print paper declared dissolved.
The newspaper’s publisher, Abu Dhabi-based International Media Investments, or IMI, said Al Roeya‘s closure stems only from its transformation into a new Arabic language business outlet with CNN.
However, eight people with direct knowledge of the newspaper’s mass firings told The Associated Press that the layoffs came in the immediate aftermath of the article on the UAE’s gas prices.
