Main twitter account of Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera has been suspended, announced director-general of the channel Yasser Abu Hilala.
@AJArabic, the official account of the news channel, was suspended today morning. According to Hilala, the main account has been suspended and the team is working to address the issue. There has been continuous attempt to jam the twitter account.
حساب الجزيرة الرئيسي على تويتر تعرض للإيقاف، ويجري معالجة الأمر. الحسابات الفرعية فعّالة، التشويش لن يتوقف، لأن الحقيقة ترعبهم، عائدون
— ياسر أبوهلالة (@abuhilalah) June 17, 2017
Meanwhile he added the other sub-accounts -- to name a few @AJEnglish, @AJENews, @ajmubasher -- continue to report normally.
According to social media figures, AJArabic was the most popular twitter account in Qatar with 11.8mn followers.
The broadcaster had been under widescale cyber attack on June 8 which had then targeted all systems according to a statement released on social media.
Twitteratis immediately took to the social media site to post their reactions to the news. Mark MacKinnon, Senior International Correspondent for The Globe and Mail, tweeted saying "Twitter sets a dangerous precedent, suspends Al-Jazeera's Arabic-language account amid Saudi pressure on Qatar."
