Saudi Arabia: Alwaleed channel suspended

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s new Bahrain-based satellite television channel, Al-Arab, went on air on 1 February, but was suspended the next day. The channel – hoping to find slightly more liberal airwaves in Bahrain than in Saudi Arabia – had broadcast an interview with opposition politician Khalil Al-Marzooq, assistant to Al-Wefaq secretary-general Sheikh Ali Salman, whose ongoing trial has caused significant protests. Marzooq criticised the trial as politically motivated.