Manama: Kuwait on Monday closed down the offices of Al Jazeera, the satellite television station in Qatar, and withdrew the accreditation of its reporters.
The Information Ministry did not explain the reasons behind the decision, but Kuwaiti and Qatari media said the pan-Arab TV station was accused of interfering in Kuwait's domestic affairs.
The media report was later confirmed by Al Jazeera.
"Kuwait attributed the shutdown decision to Al Jazeera's coverage of recent developments in Kuwait that they said amounted to interference in domestic affairs and a refusal to comply with the Information Ministry's instructions," Al Jazeera said, quoting a letter it received from Kuwait's audio-visual directorate.
The pan-Arab station said it had been warned it would be closed if it went ahead with a plan to broadcast a live interview with a lawmaker involved in a scuffle in which some people were reportedly injured.
However, Al Jazeera on Friday clashed with Kuwaiti authorities when it rejected a request to delay the airing of an interview with opposition MP Muslim Al Barrak during which he was expected to comment on the clashes in Kuwait City that marred a forum.
According to Al Aan news portal, Al Jazeera said it was going ahead with the interview and suggested that the Kuwaiti government nominate a person to be part of it. Al Jazeera reportedly consulted with its headquarters in Doha and was told that the channel was not under the policy of any government and need not comply with the instructions of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information, Al Aan said. The station eventually hosted Al Barrak who spoke for an hour over the telephone.
Taking sides
Kuwaiti authorities were already upset with Al Jazeera's coverage of the forum incident on Wednesday amid claims that they were taking sides in the issue pitting conservative lawmakers against the government.
Al Jazeera denied the charges and said that it was just doing its job.
This is the third time that Kuwait has closed down Al Jazeera's offices.
In 1999, the station was shut down after an Iraqi caller insulted the then Emir Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah in a live show. However, the ban was lifted a month later, and a local bureau was opened after two years.
