Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz has ordered an over-enthusiastic columnist to be suspended from his job, Saudi media reported on Sunday. King Salman has frequently been lauded by columnists in local media, in traditional deference to authority, since the 81-year-old assumed office in 2015. But Ramadan al-Anzi's column in al-Jazirah newspaper had gone too far insofar as king's praise was concerned.
The newspaper published an apology late on Saturday. Saudi media reported that the king had ordered that action be taken against the newspaper, but no specifics were given. In a message to Information Minister Awwad bin Saleh Alawwad, the king wrote that he was "astonished by some of the phrases used in the column", according to Okaz newspaper. Online newspaper, sabq, quoted the king as saying in his written complaint: "This is an issue that has distressed us, we don't accept it and don't approve of it, recognising its dangers and the danger of being lenient towards it."
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