GENEVA – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, today condemned the killing of Nahed Hattar, a prominent Jordanian journalist and writer who was well-known for his opposition to both the Government and to radical Islam. Mr. Hattar was shot dead on 25 September 2016 as he was about to enter the court in Amman where he was on trial for sharing on social media a caricature deemed blasphemous by the authorities. Mr. Hattar was arrested a number of times in the 1990s, and survived an assassination attempt in 1998. “The killing of Mr. Hattar is appalling, and it is unacceptable that no protection measures had been put in place to ensure his safety, particularly when the threats against him were well known to the authorities,” the expert said. “I am also concerned to hear reports that the authorities have banned the sharing of information about Mr. Hattar’s murder.” Nahed Hattar turned himself in to the police on 13 August 2016, a day after the authorities issued an arrest warrant against him. He was later charged with the crime of ‘insulting religion’ and ‘causing sectarian strife and racism’. In a recent communication to the Jordanian authorities, a group of UN human rights experts raised concern about Mr. Hattar’s arrest and the... Continue reading →
