Dubai Film Festival Chairman Sued for Libel in UK

Dubai Film Festival Chairman Sued for Libel in UK

LONDON, November 30/PRNewswire/ --

- Dubai Holding's Tecom and Other Top Executive Named as Co-Defendants

The founder of one of the world's leading international film festivals is today launching a major legal action in the UK High Court of Justice against two former senior colleagues who falsely accused him of being a "racist" and an "Arab hater".

Neil Stephenson, the former CEO of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) - an event conceptualized and founded by Stephenson in the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks in order to bring reconciliation between the West and the Islamic world - is suing DIFF Chairman Abdulhamid Juma and Managing Director Shivani Pandya.

Stephenson originally conceived the idea of DIFF in the UK on December 26, 2001, after reading an article in a UK newspaper which described how world leaders were calling for tolerance to be the legacy of the terror attacks on America.

The High Court writ filed by Stephenson claims the two defendants labeled him a racist and then illegally conspired to engineer his exit from DIFF in late 2006, and tried to ruin his reputation by making untrue and damaging claims against him.

Stephenson has brought this action reluctantly after attempting to reconcile matters amicably in a private way. Stephenson reached out repeatedly to Mr. Juma and TECOM to reach a resolution but unfortunately all his attempts to reconcile matters were unsuccessful.

Stephenson commented: "I am saddened that this dispute could not be amicably resolved, but I will continue to fight for justice and for my rightful credit."

The case was originally filed last December in the California Superior Court against Juma and Pandya "for their deplorable and despicable behavior," but when the defendants attempted to sidestep the charges on technical jurisdictional grounds and refused to answer the substance of his complaint, Stephenson in a surprise move decided to withdraw his California lawsuit and voluntarily re-file the case in the British courts in order to litigate the dispute on its merits.

The suit alleges that the two defendants also conspired to ruin his reputation by branding him a "racist" and an "Arab-hater," despite the fact that he had lived in the Arab world for 10 years. Stephenson, a British citizen, has also filed a complaint with the British-UAE All Party Parliamentary Group at Westminster, and plans to file a formal complaint with the Anti-Defamation League.

Despite Stephenson's departure, DIFF has continued to rely heavily on his theme and positioning of the festival as an international cultural bridge. Last year, Juma persuaded George Clooney and Sharon Stone to attend the festival, enticing them with the festival's message of tolerance and bridge-building.

For further information: UK and INTERNATIONAL MEDIA, Elizabeth Block at EJB Communications: +44(0)786-791-7286, ejb@ejbcomms.com; US MEDIA, Allan Mayer at 42West: +1-310-477-4442, allan.mayer@42west.net

Source: Neil Stephenson Ltd

For further information: UK and INTERNATIONAL MEDIA, Elizabeth Block at EJB Communications: +44(0)786-791-7286, ejb@ejbcomms.com; US MEDIA, Allan Mayer at 42West: +1-310-477-4442, allan.mayer@42west.net

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Profile: International Entertainment