Iraqi People Denounce Al-Jazeera Office Closure
Sheikh Mahmud Al-Sudani (L), Moqtada Al-Sadr’s representative in Baghdad, participates in a demonstration denouncing the caretaker Iraqi government’s decision to close the Baghdad offices of the Qatar-based pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera for 30 days, Sunday, August 8, 2004, in front of the hotel housing the network's headquarters in Baghdad. Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi announced the closure Saturday, following charges that the channel was inciting hatred and racial tension. The measures came after US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld accused Al-Jazeera of harming the image of the US.