Managing Director of Al-Jazeera, Wadah Khanfar (AFP)

BAGHDAD, Sept 5 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The US-allied Iraqi government has extended the closure of Al-Jazeera offices in Iraq indefinitely, not only provoking the outrage of the Qatar-based network and media watchdogs, but also casting deep doubts over promises of freedom and democracy.

"This decision runs contrary to pledges made by the Iraqi authorities to pursue a policy of openness and to safeguard freedoms of the press and expression," said a statement of the widely-watched Satellite station.

The station's spokesman, Jihad Ballout, said the office in Baghdad was raided by Iraqi security forces hours before the order was announced and sealed it with red wax indefinitely.

"Iraqi security authorities stormed our office in Baghdad , photographed our equipment and sealed the place with red wax," Ballout told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"They positioned nearly 14 security officers outside Al-Jazeera" office".

The raid came on grounds that Al-Jazeera continued to cover Iraq despite the ban, Ballout said.

Denouncing the move, he said Al-Jazeera had complied with the ban and "has been receiving footage from news agencies, as do many media institutions operating in Iraq ."

On August 5, the pan-Arab news outlet was ordered to close its Baghdad office for a month on charges of advocating violence, inciting hatred and racial tension.

That has drawn condemnation from media watchdogs, including Reporters without Borders and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, which charged that the new Iraqi government was violating press freedom.

Condemned

"This decision runs contrary to pledges.. of openness and .. freedoms of the press and expression," said Al-Jazeera

Iraq 's Ministerial National Security Committee said in a statement that it had decided to extend the August 5 suspension because Al-Jazeera had failed to offer an explanation of its editorial policies.

"Based on this lack of respect for an official government order," the committee extended the ban "until a time when Al-Jazeera TV headquarters sends an official response," read the statement, sent by e-mail to The Associated Press.

Since the August decision, Al-Jazeera continued to carry scoops about kidnappings. Its main rival Al-Arabiya has also carried such reports.

The Iraqi statement said the committee will wait until Al-Jazeera comes forward with an explanation before making its next move.

The decision has drawn criticism in Iraq , and media watchdogs said the closure of the leading Arab channel is an attempt for the government to stifle freedom of the media.

The secretary general of Reporters Without Borders, Robert Menard, was quoted by Al-Jazeera.net as saying the decision "contradicts Iraqi officials' statements on democracy", adding that it went against the notions of law and freedom.

Iraqi commentators also weighed in.

"There are pressures on Al-Jazeera and other media outlets to come into line with the Iraqi government’s policies," Qais Al-Azawy, the editor-in-chief of Al-Garida newspaper, told the channel.

"This is against the atmosphere of freedom Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi had pledged to create. These raids are rejected," said Al-Azawy, adding his newspaper has come under similar pressures.

Allawi said last month that the government had convened an independent commission to monitor Al-Jazeera's daily coverage.

Legal Action

Haidar Al-Mulla, a lawyer for Al-Jazeera offices in Iraq , said the channel could now take a legal action against the decision.

The network has been criticized by a number of senior US officials for what they see as biased coverage of the invasion of Iraq . Al-Jazeera has denied the allegations.

On April 8, 2003 , one year ago, US forces hit with missiles Al-Jazeera office in Baghdad , killing its correspondent Tariq Ayyoub just a few hours before rolling into the capital.

The channel officials charged the missile attack was a "deliberate" strike, recalling that the office of the station had been hit in November 2001 during the US-led assault on Afghanistan .

On April 9, 2004 , the United States asked Al-Jazeera team to leave Fallujah after the cannel aired footages showing the American forces violating a ceasefire, declared a few hours earlier.

Known for its quality programs, professionalism and independence, Al-Jazeera – nicknamed "the CNN of the Arab world" -  is the most-watched channel in this part of the world. The station’s officials plan the launch of an English satellite TV by next year.

Unlike Arab state-run media, Al-Jazeera airs views of local opposition figures and their criticisms of their countries' rulers. That has put the station in collision course with authorities in other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia , Kuwait , Bahrain , Jordan and the former Iraqi regime.