[An Nahar] Kuwaiti authorities have closed the office of the Qatar-based pan-Arab Al-Jazeera news channel over coverage of a police crackdown on a public gathering, the channel said on Monday."Today, I received a phone call from the information ministry informing me that the office has been closed immediately and our accreditations have been withdrawn," Saad al-Saeedi, Al-Jazeera's bureau chief in Kuwait City, told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Ministry officials had delivered the office a letter that stated the reason for the closure was "the latest developments and your interference in Kuwait's internal affairs," Saeedi said, quoting the letter.
The channel had aired extensive coverage of the police crackdown on a gathering held by the Kuwaiti opposition on Wednesday.
It showed footage of police beating activists and aired interviews with members of the Kuwaiti opposition following the festivities in which four Kuwaiti MPs and a dozen citizens were hurt.
In a statement, Al-Jazeera denied the charge of meddling in Kuwaiti affairs, saying it was just doing its job.
"Al-Jazeera, which has adhered in its coverage of Kuwaiti affairs to hosting all parties, condemns considering its professional coverage an interference in Kuwaiti internal affairs," it said.
"Al-Jazeera vows to continue to cover Kuwaiti affairs with full professionalism and balance."
Three Kuwaiti opposition MPs on Monday filed a motion to question the prime minister in parliament over the police action and alleged government clampdown on public freedoms.
Kuwait closed the office of Al-Jazeera in November 2002 in the run-up to the U.S.-led war on Iraq because it said the channel took a hostile stand against Kuwait, and for security reasons, before reopening it in May 2005.
This followed an official visit by Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, whose country has often had problems with other Arab states over Al-Jazeera's news coverage.