JORDAN: On-line editor prosecuted for publishing articles by opposition

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

AMMAN, 29 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - Human right activists have called on the government to drop charges filed against the editor of an opposition party website for posting articles written by parliamentarians more than a year ago.

“We want freedom of press as high as the sky, as King Abdullah said recently,” said Nidal Mansour, director of the Centre for Defending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ). “But, given this case, the Jordanian government is clearly not going in this direction, and we condemn it.”

On 5 January, prosecutors at the State Security Court (SSC) charged Jamil Abu Bakr, editor of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) party’s website, with "belittling the dignity of the Jordanian state”. The charge referred to articles posted in December 2004 on an IAF webpage.

The incriminating articles, which criticised alleged favouritism in the appointment of senior government officials, were written by two IAF representatives, Azzam al-Hunaidi and Ali Abu Sukkar.

The IAF currently holds 17 seats in the lower house of parliament.

In early 2005, a civilian court dismissed charges against Abu Bakr. But while civilian courts are responsible for processing press violations, the SSC has jurisdiction over alleged crimes involving state security, including those against "the dignity of the state and national consciousness".

According to Jordanian law, judges are appointed by the prime minister and prosecutors by the military chief of staff.

Although the court follows civilian criminal procedures, its lack of independence has given rise to charges of politically motivated prosecutions, says civil liberties monitoring group Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Senior government officials announced in July 2005 that they would eliminate press censorship, and that they would not apply articles in Jordan's Penal Code that criminalised "insults" to the king or "slander" of government officials and institutions, according to HRW.

The government also promised a new draft of the Press and Publications Law, due to be drawn up by Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit and his cabinet as part of a “National Agenda” reform package.

Critics, however, complain that the status quo remains.

"Jordan has reverted to its old habit of silencing critics with repressive laws," said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of HRW's Middle East division.

"Charging Abu Bakr in a state security court does far more harm to Jordan's reputation than anything he may have posted on the internet,” Whitson added.

“We aren’t against the [State Security] court, but against the interference of the government in the court,” added Mansour.

[ENDS]