Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based press freedom organization, has strongly condemned a letter bomb attack on a Kuwaiti newspaper editor, which left his secretary with facial injuries. Walid Dahdoub was wounded when he opened the letter, addressed to the editor of the daily Al-Siyassah, Ahmad Al-Jarallah, one of the country's best-known journalists.
The international press freedom organisation urged police to instigate a fast and meticulous investigation into the 11 December attack.
The letter bombing was the first ever against a media in Kuwait.
Al-Jarallah said he thought the letter bomb was sent to him "as a reaction to what [he had] written about terrorists and extremists in the Arab world."
The journalist, owner of both Al-Siyassah and the English-language daily, Arab Times, is also close to the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah. During the war in Iraq he expressed his backing in the newspaper for the US-led invasion. More recently, Al-Siyassah, which appears simultaneously in Kuwait and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia has been very critical of "extreme" Saudi elements, blamed for carrying out suicide bombing attacks in Riyadh.
Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti Communications Ministry announced on Friday finding two booby-trapped parcels sent to two journalists working for Al-Qabas and Al-Siyassah newspapers.
Undersecretary of the Communications Ministry Hamed Khajah said in a statement, quoted by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), that the two letters were found after the Ministry announced a state of alert in its technical and administrative departments, to inspect all letters and postal parcels sent to all centers in Kuwait.
Khajah said, during of incoming mail, two letters including explosive substances were found and sent by the same source in Lebanon, that sent an explosive letter to Al-Jarallah.
Khajah added one letter was addressed to journalist Naser Al-Otaibi, who works for Al-Siyassah and the second was directed to journalist Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Al-Sheikh, who works for Al-Qabas newspaper. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
