Charges dropped against on-line editor

Human rights groups welcomed the decision by Jordanian authorities to drop charges against an on-line editor for posting articles more than a year ago that criticised the government. “We appreciate the government’s decision to correct the mistake it made,” said Nizam Assaf, director of the Amman Centre for Human Rights. “Everyone in Jordan should be free to express his or her opinion in newspapers or websites.” On 5 January, prosecutors at the State Security Court charged Jamil Abu Baker, editor of the opposition Islamic Action Front party’s website, with "belittling the dignity of the Jordanian state”. The charge referred to articles posted in December 2004 on the opposition party’s webpage. Government spokesman Nasser Judeh confirmed earlier this week that the state had withdrawn the charge of “harming the dignity of the state,” but declined to give any reason, according to English-language daily The Jordan Times. The incriminating editorials, which criticised alleged favouritism in the appointment of senior government officials, were written by IAF MPs Azzam al-Hunaidi and Ali Abu Sukkar. In early 2005, a civilian court dismissed charges against Abu Baker. But while civilian courts are responsible for processing press violations, the State Security Court 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. After describing the government’s decision as “the right thing to do”, Abu Baker expressed his hope “that the government does not repeat this action anymore”. “Taking me to court was unjust,” Abu Baker added. “What the government did was an infringement of freedom of expression.” The move to prosecute Abu Baker had drawn wide criticism from press freedom organisations and the Muslim Brotherhood Movement.