Saudi Judge says it's OK to kill some TV execs

September 13, 2008 - Saudi Arabia's top judiciary official has issued a religious decree saying it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV networks that broadcast immoral content.

The 79-year-old Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan said that satellite channels cause the "deviance of thousands of people."

Many of the most popular Arab satellite networks, which include channels showing music videos often denounced as obscene by Muslim conservatives, are owned by Saudi princes and well-connected Saudi businessmen.

Saudi Lihedan is chief of the kingdom's highest tribunal, the Supreme Judiciary Council. Saudi Arabia's judiciary is made up of Islamic clerics whose decrees, or fatwas, on everyday issues are widely respected. Their fatwas do not have the weight of law. In the courts, cleric-judges rule according to Islamic law, but interpretations can vary.

Among the most viewed Arabic satellite networks is Rotana, which airs movies and music videos. It is owned by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a billionaire businessman and member of the royal family whom Forbes ranks as the world's 13th-richest person.