Al Arab Al Yawm building to be sold at auction — court order

AMMAN –– The Amman Court of First Instance on Thursday issued an announcement to sell the building of Al Arab Al Yawm daily at an auction. 

The court said in an advertisement published in daily newspapers that the property will be auctioned as it is hypothecated to the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance in return for a loan worth JD3.6 million. 

The building, near the Sports City Circle on University (Queen Rania Al Abdullah) Street, includes the headquarters of the financially troubled private newspaper, a restaurant, a supermarket, commercial offices and stores, according to the advertisement. 

Elias Jreisat, chairman of the National Group for Media Investment, which publishes Al Arab Al Yawm, could not be reached for comment on the case. 

However, an employee at the newspaper told The Jordan Times that the daily has suspended its print edition since July 17 for financial reasons, adding that there are some employees who have not received their salaries for a few months. 

The newspaper relies on its online edition, said the employee, who requested anonymity, adding the number of editorial and administrative staff is around 30. 

In April of this year, security forces implemented a court decision to seize the assets and properties of Al Arab Al Yawm newspaper by force to be sold at an auction to cover dues worth JD500,000, including unpaid salaries for three months in 2013 when the paper was closed, as well as compensation for arbitrary dismissals.

In July 2013, Jreisat suspended the daily’s publication over financial difficulties. The paper returned to newsstands in December that year with a change in form and content.
The daily now focuses on pan-Arab issues more than local matters, with news reports and opinion pieces written by journalists and columnists from Jordan and other Arab countries.