AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdallah II on Thursday visited the home village of Christian writer Nahed Hattar to pay condolences to his family, following his murder outside an Amman court.
The king “strongly condemned this heinous crime” which was “alien to our (Jordanian) culture,” the royal palace said in a statement.
Abdullah, accompanied by Prime Minister Hani Al-Malki on the visit to the Christian village of Al-Fuhais, 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Amman, stressed that Jordan’s Muslims and minority Christians were united against “extremism, violence and bigotry.”
Hattar, 56, was shot dead by a bearded assailant on Sunday on the steps of an Amman court where he was on trial for insulting Islam with a cartoon he shared on social media.
Hattar’s family accused the authorities of failing to protect the writer despite warnings that his life had been under threat.
They also called for the resignation of both Malki and Interior Minister Salama Hammad.
A source close to the family said the king had pledged to ensure the prosecution of anyone who had incited Hattar’s murder.
The assailant, who surrendered to police at the scene, has been charged with premeditated murder, terrorism and possession of an illegal firearm. If convicted, the suspect could face the death penalty.
Jordan king visits family of murdered Christian writer
Jordan king visits family of murdered Christian writer
Syrian authorities arrest leader of terrorist cells in Lattakia
- Ali Aziz Sbeira is accused of violating civilians’ rights during the Syrian uprising after 2011
LONDON: Syrian authorities have arrested Ali Aziz Sbeira, a prominent leader of terrorist cells responsible for attacks on internal security checkpoints, the Syrian army and civilians during the country’s uprising against the former regime of Bashar Assad.
The Internal Security Directorate announced on Wednesday the capture of Sbeira in Lattakia province, located on the Mediterranean Sea.
Authorities accuse him of leading and supplying arms to terrorist groups. Hailing from the town of Jableh, Sbeira is also accused of having links to Ghiyath Dalla and Brigadier General Nours Makhlouf, two military figures associated with the former rule of Assad.
Sbeira is accused of violating civilians’ rights during the Syrian uprising after 2011, when he joined the National Defense Militia and helped suppress peaceful demonstrations, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
In 2014, he joined the 4th Armoured Division, which was commanded by Maher Assad, brother of the former president, from 2018 until the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024.
