Here’s an interesting piece from Arab News. The article discusses the way vague media reports about serious problems with companies is shackled by fear of reprisals (starting with law suits) by companies named in articles. It notes that in Shariah law, truth is an effective defense against the crime of tash’hir, slandering or libeling an individual.

The Deputy Minister of Information encouragingly says that there should be not problem with naming companies as long as the media can back up the allegations it publishes.

But Saudi law seems to be strongly against the naming of individuals. I wonder why, if the same documentation and proof can be found, an individual cannot be named as suspected of wrong doing?

I do realize that shame is an extremely powerful force in Arab societies, including Saudi society. It is certainly a blow to personal—and perhaps familial and tribal—dignity to be named as a miscreant. But if the allegation is true? Isn’t that part of what comes from committing crimes?

Naming erring companies in news reports carries huge risks
Fatima Sidiya | Arab News

JEDDAH: Different interpretations of the legal boundaries of publishing the names of establishments that commit violations, or are accused of committing violations — such as hospitals that commit malpractice, restaurants that serve stale food or employers who don’t pay their workers — has had a chilling effect on the media’s ability to publish their names.

Few newspapers in the Kingdom venture into this territory out of fear of legal reprisals. But the glaring omissions in the press have not gone unnoticed by the public.

“What is the point of writing a story about a hospital where medical malpractice takes place without naming the hospital?” asked Rida, a 30-year-old mother of two. “How do readers benefit from such stories? Newspapers should state the names of the establishments where violations take place. This would make us more aware when dealing with them.”

Saudi Arabia subscribes to the Islamic concept of “tash’hir,” an Islamic privacy and libel law aimed at protecting people from false allegations or accusations lacking witnesses or other concrete evidence. Like Western privacy and libel laws, experts say that the truth is the best protection against tash’hir lawsuits.
…