The assassination comes ahead of the writer’s trial for an “offensive” cartoon
Prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar was shot dead outside a court in Amman by an unidentified gunman while he was on his way to attend a hearing on 26th September. He was facing charges for a cartoon that was deemed offensive to Islam reports Al Jazeera.
Christian by faith, Hattar posted a cartoon on his Facebook page that “depicted a bearded man in heaven smoking in bed with women, asking God to bring him wine and cashews.”
According to the report, Hattar removed the drawing shortly after and said, “it mocks terrorists and their concept of God and heaven. It does not infringe God’s divinity in any way”.
He was arrested and charged with inciting sectarian strife and insulting Islam and later released on bail.
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The government condemned the “heinous crime” but many feel that the death of the acclaimed writer was the fault of the government. Hattar’s cousin is quoted as saying, “The prime minister was the first one who incited against Nahed when he ordered his arrest and put him on trial for sharing the cartoon, and that ignited the public against him and led to his killing”.
Award-winning journalist Daoud Kuttab said that the attack represents a situation in which people are killed for having opinions and for voicing them out loud. He said, “The omen is that many people are now going to be worried about what they say … It’s a scary situation for people who believe in the freedom of thought and opinion and the right of expressing their opinion.”
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