AMMAN, 2 May 2007 — The Jordan Press Association yesterday criticized the government’s halting of the publication of Al-Majd weekly newspaper as “illegal” under the recently enacted press and printing law.
“The new press and printing law includes a clause that considers censorship of printed media illegal,” the JPA Chairman Tareq Momani said.
The Amman-based Center for Protection of Journalists and Press Freedom has also condemned the government’s move.
According to Al-Majd’s Editor in Chief, Fahd Rimawi, the Jordanian security authorities on Monday intervened to prevent the printing of the weekly because the new edition “included a report about a plan forwarded to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that strengthens his position versus the rival Hamas group.”
“The report also envisaged elevating Abbas’ power to the level where he can fire the Hamas-led government and call early elections later this year,” he added.
Rimawi alleged that the authorities offered to allow him to publish the paper’s new edition if he agreed to remove that article, but he “refused.” The government has so far withheld comment on Rimawi’s remarks.
Jordan has also adopted a traditional policy of preventing the publication of reports that could injure the country’s ties with other Arab and friendly countries.
