Annual Prison Census 2013 - Jordan
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 18 December 2013 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Annual Prison Census 2013 - Jordan, 18 December 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/52b83bd73.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Journalists in prison as of December 1, 2013
Jordan: 2
Nidal al-Faraaneh, Jfra News
Amjad Mu'ala, Jfra News
Imprisoned: September 17, 2013
Al-Faraaneh, publisher of Jfra News, and Mu'ala, its editor-in-chief, were arrested by Jordanian security forces and taken to Juwaida prison, according to the website. Jfra News covers general news and culture in the region.
The prosecutor charged the journalists under Article 118 of the Jordanian penal code with disturbing relations with foreign states, news reports said. Agence France-Presse reported, citing an unnamed security official, that the charges carry up to five years in prison.
Jfra News said in a statement posted to its website on September 22, 2013, that the journalists were arrested after the website had reposted a certain video.
Jfra News manager Samer Khatib told AFP that the video, which is no longer available on the website, was called "Son of (former) Qatari emir in sex scandal with Israeli woman." According to the AFP report, the video contains no sexual content and shows "a man wearing a baseball cap, tank top and a pair of jeans talking to a fully clothed woman on a bed."
Several versions of the video are available on YouTube. Some only show the bed scene, while others also purportedly show the royal family member dancing, showering, and groping women. The videos have been viewed thousands of times and most have been online since 2012.
Jfra News denied having any intention of insulting the "brotherly state of Qatar" in its statement.
The journalists' case was transferred to the State Security Court, which has refused to release them on bail, according to news reports. Al-Faraaneh and Mu'ala were being held in the Hashemite Prison of Zarqa after being transferred from Juwaida Prison, news reports said.
The trial was ongoing in late 2013.
