Prosecutor calls for Muscat paper to be shut down

Oman’s public prosecution office has called for the closure of the Muscat daily Al-Zaman and requested three of its employees be convicted after the paper made claims of corruption in the Gulf state’s justice ministry.Ibrahim al-Maamari, Yousef al-Haj and design chief, Haron Saeed were charged on Sunday with insulting the justice minister and his undersecretary and using fraud, deception and stalling methods, reported AFP. The prosecution said the newspaper should be shut down for publishing “false and misleading information” while editor Al-Haj was accused of working as a journalist without a permit, said the newswire.The trial was adjourned until August 28 and Al-Zaman was ordered not to publish the events of the hearings.Watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Saturday wrote to Oman’s ruler, Sultan Qaboos, expressing their concerns for the trial. “The proceedings are out of all proportion to the gravity of the offense and we call for their immediate withdrawal,” the letter said. “We fear that Yousef Al-Haj will not have time to organise his defense for the first hearing and will not get a fair trial.” From / Arabian Business News