Lebanese Judge Orders Resumption of al-Manar Broadcast via Arabsat
Urgent Matters Judge of Baabda Hassan Hamdan issued Thursday a ruling ordering the resumption of al-Manar TV's broadcast via the Arabsat satellites, after the broadcast was cut off by the company operating the satellites in December 2015.
“The Lebanese code of civil procedure allows the judge of urgent matters to look into any lawsuit resulting from conflicts that occur in his district,” the text of Hamdan's ruling says.
“This ruling will be provisional pending the exhaustion of the arbitration procedures mentioned in the contract's terms, specifically Article 15,” the ruling adds.
The judge also described his ruling as “urgent,” calling for resuming the channel's broadcast as soon as possible.
The Arab League-affiliated Arab Satellite Communications Organization blocked al-Manar's broadcast last year after the company's offices were moved from Lebanon to Jordan, the Hizbullah-owned TV network announced announced at the time.
The Arab Satellite Communications Organization, often abbreviated as Arabsat, is an Arab League-affiliated satellite operator headquartered in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The foundation of the Arab Satellite Communications Organization dates back to the end of the 1960s.
On April 14, 1976, Arabsat was formed under Arab League jurisdiction. Saudi Arabia was the main financier of the new organization due to its expanded financial resources as a result of the oil-boom period and Riyadh housed Arabsat's headquarters.
All Arab League states except for Comoros are shareholders of Arabsat.
Lebanon has 3.8% of the shares whereas Saudi Arabia holds 36.7%.
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