Mass fire in UAE newspapers raises censorship concerns

The newspaper’s publisher, Abu Dhabi-based International Media Investment (IMI), said Al Roeya’s closure was only due to its transformation into a new Arabic-language business alongside CNN. However, eight people with direct knowledge of the paper’s massive layoffs told The Associated Press that the layoffs came immediately after the article on gas prices in the UAE was published.

Their accounts, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, suggest that there are limits to speech in an authoritarian country that tightly controls its domestic media. There is widespread self-censorship by journalists in local media, which are expected to deliver a slew of good news in the UAE, which promotes itself as a global destination attractive to tourists, investors and Western media companies.

“The UAE prides itself on being liberal and open to business, while continuing to repress,” said Kathryn Grotter, a Middle East research analyst at Washington-based Freedom House. “Censorship is rampant, both online and offline. … …it limits what journalists can do.”

IMI declined to comment on the story published in the weeks before Al Roeya announced its closure. The company stressed that its plans to launch CNN Business Arabic limited months-long negotiations.

Al Roeya, ‘The Vision’ in Arabic, was established in 2012 and rebranded by IMI three years ago to provide Arab youth with local and global news.

IMI is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the billionaire brother of the UAE president, who also owns English football club Manchester City. IMI’s main media include The National and Sky News Arabia.

While Al Roeya sticks to the official UAE line, its page offers in-depth business news.

The story the staff said sparked the newspaper crisis emerged earlier this summer, when high prices were the talk of the city. Unlike its neighbors, the oil-producing United Arab Emirates has phased out fuel subsidies. Citizens accustomed to cheap gasoline and cradle-to-grave benefits are feeling the sting after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed up oil prices.

Al Roeya interviews Emiratis who are taking cost-saving measures. Some citizens living near the border with Oman, whose drivers pay half as much for fuel as the UAE due to government subsidies, told Al Roeya that they entered the sultanate to refuel. Some have even reportedly installed extra fuel tanks on their vehicles.

On June 2, the story went viral on social media like wildfire — especially anecdotes about cross-border refueling. However, within a few hours, the article was removed from the site and was never published again.

Several days later, several employees linked to the article were summoned to the office. They were suspended and faced extensive inquiries from representatives of IMI and Al Roeya, as well as a lawyer, about every step and person involved in the creation, editing and publication of the story, according to people familiar with the matter.

A week later, the organization was given a choice: resign and receive additional benefits, or be fired and face possible consequences. Those who signed the resignation letter pledged not to reveal anything about why they were fired or criticize the publication, according to a copy of one such letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The eight forced to resign include senior editors. Morale plummeted.

More than a week later, IMI CEO Nart Bouran visited the newsroom for a plenary session.

While attending the meeting, the remaining employees had no reason to worry about their jobs, according to some people familiar with the paper’s internal discussions. They said IMI’s top executives had reassured employees over the past year that their jobs were safe as the paper’s editorial focus shifted largely to business reporting.

Instead, Bouran announced the dissolution of Al Roeya and the imminent launch of an Arabic-language business outlet in partnership with CNN. At least 35 employees lost their jobs in one day, people familiar with the matter said. Others said dozens of others were fired in addition to severance pay.

IMI did not answer repeated questions about how many people it fired. About 90 people have worked at Al Roeya, according to profiles on job site LinkedIn.

Before the launch of CNN Business Arabic, the newspaper had retained a cadre of staff to update its website, people familiar with the matter said.

“The (Al Roeya) case sounds like an important part of a generally repressive environment,” said Freedom House’s Grote. “It has a chilling effect.”

While some foreign journalists can safely return to countries that support press freedom, Arab journalists who form the backbone of the country’s local media remain wary of jeopardizing their work-related residency status.

Al Roeya prints its final issue on June 21, titled: “New Promise, New Era.” CNN Business Arabic will be available by the end of the year.

IMI described Al Roeya’s transition to CNN Business Arabic as long-planned, saying the transition “unfortunately required some layoffs”. It denied that the paper’s closure was “related in any way to Al Roeya’s editorial output”.

When asked about the firing, CNN spokesman Dan Faulks briefed The Associated Press on IMI’s statement without elaborating.

Mohamed al-Hamadi, head of the UAE’s state-backed Journalists’ Association, said the group “provided the necessary support for the fired journalists” and backed the IMI’s account of the firings.

The upheaval is reminiscent of other dramas that have upset local media in the UAE in recent years. In 2017, the government temporarily banned the publication of Arab Business magazine after it was reported that Dubai courts were liquidating dozens of failed real estate projects stemming from the 2009 global financial crisis.

The economic downturn has sparked a flurry of negative headlines about Dubai’s debt crisis, leading the UAE to tighten its media laws. The country’s crackdown on online dissent peaked in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings sparked by economic grievances.