Al Jazeera barred from pilgrimage

[La_Serpiente]

Al Jazeera barred from pilgrimage

Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news channel said that the Saudi authorities had prohibited it from covering this year’s Hajj pilgrimage for the second consecutive year, forcing the station to broadcast footage collected by other broadcasters.

The ban reflects strained relations between the Saudi and Qatari governments, following Al Jazeera’s broadcast of a debate in June 2002, during which participants denounced a Middle East peace plan put forward by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz.

Some participants also criticized Saudi Arabia’s royal family and accused Riyadh of having betrayed the Palestinian cause.

In another blow for the maverick channel, Iraq’s US-installed Interim Governing Council prohibited Al Jazeera from covering its activities for one month from last Saturday.

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Al Jazeera barred from pilgrimage