Article 36 of the Saudi Publications Law

This article gives the Ministry (the Ministry of Media under Article 1) the power to withdraw a printed material without compensation, on these conditions:

• The withdrawal must be when necessary, so it is a discretionary power of the Ministry.
• The printed material must contain any of the matters prohibited from publication set out in Article 9.
• The withdrawal is without compensation to the owner of the printed material.

The prohibitions in Article 9 are: what violates the provisions of Islamic Sharia or the laws in force; what calls for disrupting the security or public order of the country or serves foreign interests that conflict with the national interest; attacking or harming the reputation or dignity of, or disparaging or personally insulting, the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, members of the Council of Senior Scholars, state officials or any of its employees, or any private natural or legal person; stirring up discord and sowing division among citizens; encouraging or inciting crime; what harms the public interest of the country; and the facts of investigations or trials without permission from the authority legally empowered to give it.

Under Article 1, a printed material is any means of expression printed for circulation, whether a word, a drawing, a picture or a sound. The article was amended by Royal Decree No. M/20 dated 11/4/1433 AH, and the text shown is the text in force.

After it comes Article 37, which establishes one or more primary committees to consider violations of the Law and apply penalties. Anyone whose printed material was withdrawn can consult a lawyer who specializes in media and publishing law.