Jordan: Journalist Heba Abu Taha sentenced to prison under cybercrime law
Jordan: Journalist Heba Abu Taha sentenced to prison under cybercrime law
Photo: Facebook profile, 26 June 2024
The IPI global network strongly condemns the sentencing of journalist Heba Abu Taha to one year in prison for violating Jordan’s repressive 2023 cybercrime law. We urge the appellate court to overturn this unjust conviction and to expedite Abu Taha’s release. We also call upon the Jordanian government to immediately repeal Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023 and cease the use of lawfare to silence criticism.
On June 11, Abu Taha was sentenced to one year in prison for “inciting discord and strife among members of society”. Abu Taha is the first journalist to have been convicted under Jordan’s new cybercrime law, marking an escalation in Jordan’s lawfare against the press. Abu Taha plans to appeal the verdict.
Abu Taha’s sentence came after a complaint from the Jordanian Media Commission for an investigative article she wrote in April. The article, published in a Lebanese media outlet, exposed the existence of a so-called “land bridge” through Jordan that allows companies to ship goods from neighbouring countries into Israel, bypassing the Houthi-imposed blockade on the Red Sea. Jordanian officials have denied the existence of such a route.
Abu Taha was convicted under Articles 15 and 17 of Cybercrime Law 17 of 2023, a vague and overbroad law that IPI has previously warned can be abused to target and punish critical journalism.
“The sentencing of Heba Abu Taha demonstrates exactly how Jordanian authorities intend to use this law”, IPI Director of Advocacy Amy Brouillette said. “Her sentence sends a chilling message to all journalists in Jordan: those who report on issues that contradict the official narrative will face severe consequences.”
Abu Taha has faced detention for her work before. In 2020, she was arrested for an interview she gave in 2012 and charged with “slander and undermining the government”. After one week in detention, she was found innocent and released. Last year, Abu Taha was sentenced to three months in prison for “defamation”, but was released after she successfully appealed the verdict.
EIN Presswire does not exercise editorial control over third-party content provided, uploaded, published, or distributed by users of EIN Presswire. We are a distributor, not a publisher, of 3rd party content. Such content may contain the views, opinions, statements, offers, and other material of the respective users, suppliers, participants, or authors.
