Monitoring press freedom and international affairs from Mid-Missouri Public Radio and the Missouri School of Journalism
A Jordanian TV anchor arrested over a Facebook post has been released from jail after a week behind bars.
Tareq Abu al-Ragheb, who works for Al-Haqiqah International, a privately-owned satellite channel, was arrested Nov. 3 and detained for an unspecified post the authorities considered "non-objective and full of libel and slander," according to The Jordan Times. A video on Facebook posted Nov. 10 showed him thanking colleagues in the media and in law who aided in his release.
Based on the penal code, defamation is a crime, and defamation of public and government officials carries a maximum fine of $14,000 (10,000 Jordanian dinars) and a jail sentence of three months to a year, according to Freedom House. Article 37 of Jordan's penal code also prohibits journalists from printing anything that could "harm" national unity.
One post that may have led to al-Ragheb's arrest included criticism of Arab governments and their failure to aid the Palestinians, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, citing a person it didn't identify.
Al-Ragheb is not the only journalist to be arrested for defamation in Jordan recently. Osama al-Ramini, chief editor of the al-Balad, news website was detained Oct. 20 and released on bail the next day.
Al-Ramini faced a lawsuit for the publication of an article that was also deemed "non-objective and full of slander" by Jordanian authorities, according to The Jordan Times.
Although Jordan's press law does not allow for the detention of journalists for their work, authorities use a provision in the country's electronic crimes law to detain journalists, according to The World Post.
