Qatar's Al Jazeera hits back at Arab states' attempt to close it down

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Qatari-owned Al Jazeera television network hit back on Friday at reported demands by four Arab countries to close it down, calling them "nothing but an attempt to silence the freedom of expression in the region." Four Arab states boycotting Qatar over alleged support for terrorism have sent Doha a list of 13 demands including closing Al Jazeera television and reducing ties to Iran, an official of one of the four countries said. "We assert our right to practice our journalism professionally without bowing to pressure from any government or authority and we demand that governments respect the freedom of media to allow journalists to continue to do their jobs free of intimidation, threats, and fearmongering," Al Jazeera said. (Reporting by Tom Finn; Writing by Rania El Gamal; editing by John Stonestreet)