Editor or Jordanian paper released on bail

Editor of the Jordanian daily newspaper Assabeel, Atef Al-Joulani, was released on bail yesterday after he was suspended for seven days based on a law that fights cybercrimes.

The Director General of Jordan’s Standards and Metrology Organisation, Haider Al-Zabin, filed a complaint against Al-Joulani after he published an article entitled: “Gas cylinders… Are we more careful than the Italians?”.

The article was published on 17 June and discussed the shipment of gas cylinders which was rejected by the Jordanian Standards and Metrology Organisation. Al-Joulani criticised the government’s handling of the issue and this sparked a debate amongst the public.

The General Prosecutor of the Amman Court charged Al-Joulani with a “lack of accuracy and not seeking the truth in the publication of press material, contrary to Article 4 of the Press and Publications Law, libel and slander, in breach of Article 190 of the Penal Code, and insulting an official institution and employee.”