AMMAN: The trial of a Jordanian journalist accused of criticizing the authorities and King Abdullah II on social media has opened in the capital Amman, his lawyer said Monday.
Adnan Al-Rousan, 71, is accused of “inciting conflict, sowing division... spreading false news that harm the prestige of the state, slandering an official body and humiliating a civil servant,” lawyer Assem Al-Omari told AFP.
He appeared in court on Sunday and “denied the charges against him,” Omari added.
He said his client had been detained for a week and would remain under arrest until another hearing next Sunday.
Rousan, who has around 37,000 followers on Facebook, is being prosecuted over comments he published last month, Omari said.
He allegedly criticized “the king’s endless foreign trips... which are becoming ridiculous” and urged attention be paid to the country’s Bedouin tribes.
He is also being prosecuted over an article published late last month in which he allegedly accused the king of employing officials and their “children and grandchildren, awarding them bonuses and money from our pockets and not his, while our children cannot find work.”
Jordan is experiencing an economic crisis and its unemployment rate reached around 25 percent last year, according to official figures, and double that among young people.
The poverty rate has risen to 24 percent and public debt exceeded $51 billion — more than 110 percent of GDP — in the first six months of this year.
Jordanian journalist on trial over social media posts
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Jordanian journalist on trial over social media posts
- Jordanian journalist is accused of inciting conflict and spreading false news that harm the Jordanian state
Tunisian journalist Chatha BelHajj Mubarak freed after sentence cut
- The court cut her sentence from five years to two, making her eligible for immediate release, her brother told Reuters
TUNIS: A Tunisian appeal court on Wednesday ordered the release of journalist Chatha BelHajj Mubarak, jailed since 2023 in a conspiracy case, after reducing her prison sentence, her family said.
The court cut her sentence from five years to two, making her eligible for immediate release, her brother told Reuters.
She was convicted in the so-called “Instalingo” case, which involved politicians, media figures and other defendants accused of conspiracy and financial crimes. BelHajj Mubarak denied the charges.
“Chatha is free and leaving prison,” her brother, Amen BelHajj Mubarak, said.
He said her health had severely deteriorated during her time in prison. She suffered serious complications, including significant hearing loss, and was diagnosed with cancer in detention, he added.
Tunisian authorities have said the case stems from judicial investigations into alleged financial and security-related offenses, and have rejected accusations by opposition groups that the prosecutions were politically motivated.
Tunisian prosecutors are pursuing a number of high-profile conspiracy cases involving politicians, journalists and activists. Several opposition leaders have received lengthy prison terms.
