Human Rights Watch raps Jordan over arrest of cartoonist criticizing UAE-Israel deal

Human Rights Watch has censured the detention of prominent Jordanian cartoonist Emad al-Hajjaj for publishing a cartoon satirizing the recent agreement between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel to normalize full diplomatic relations, calling on authorities to immediately release and drop abusive charges against him.

“Calling a satirical cartoon a terrorism offense only confirms that Jordan intends to muzzle citizens who speak freely,” Joe Stork, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa division of the New York-based organization, said on Friday.

He added, “This arrest sends the message that Jordanian authorities would rather abuse the rights of their own citizens than risk offending a [Persian] Gulf leader’s feelings.”

On August 26, Jordanian authorities arrested Hajjaj after he posted a cartoon to his website and social media, which shows Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan holding a dove with the Israeli flag painted on it, spitting on the face of the UAE de facto ruler, who is also known as MBZ.

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The cartoon referenced recent reports that Israel had urged the United States not to sell F-35 stealth combat aircraft to the UAE despite the recent normalization deal between the Tel Aviv regime and the Persian Gulf state.

The public prosecutor referred the 53-year-old cartoonist to the State Security Court the following day, on the charge of “disturbing [Jordan’s] relations with a foreign state.” 

The court, a military tribunal which deals with terrorism-related cases, decided to keep Hajjaj in detention for 14 days pending an investigation. He could face up to five years in prison if found guilty.

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Hajjaj’s detention reflects a broader deterioration of protections for free expression and media freedom in Jordan in recent years, the HRW said.

The human rights organization underlined that Jordanian authorities should release the cartoonist and drop the abusive charges against him, and work to remove overly broad articles from the country’s Penal Code, Electronic Crimes Law, and counterterrorism law that are frequently used to unduly restrict Jordanians’ right to freedom of expression.

“Jordan should be more concerned about harming its international standing through these politically motivated prosecutions than about its citizens peacefully criticizing other countries’ rulers,” Stork said.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned Hajjaj’s arrest and recent attacks on media freedom in Jordan, and demanded the immediate release of the renowned cartoonist whose satirical cartoons have appeared in major Jordanian daily newspapers for decades.

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“These unfortunate developments reveal a rapid and severe deterioration of press freedom and union rights in Jordan. The media blackout crushes journalists’ ability to report on issues of the utmost importance, and restricts people’s right to engage in a democratic debate. Jordan must immediately lift the media blackout and release Emad Hajjaj,” IFJ Secretary General, Anthony Bellanger, said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has also urged Jordanian authorities to immediately release Hajjaj, drop all charges against him, and let him work freely.

“Journalists and cartoonists like Emad Hajjaj are entitled to express their views freely on the Israel-UAE deal, which affects the lives of millions of people across the region,” CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa representative, Ignacio Miguel Delgado, said.

He added, “Jordanian authorities should immediately release Hajjaj, drop all charges against him, and allow him to provide political commentary without fear of imprisonment.”

Under the agreement between Israel and the UAE, the Tel Aviv regime has purportedly agreed to "temporarily" suspend applying its own rule to further areas in the occupied West Bank and the strategic Jordan Valley that Netanyahu had pledged to annex.

While Emirati officials have described the normalization deal with the Tel Aviv regime as a successful means to stave off annexation and save the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli leaders have lined up to reject MBZ’s bluff that Israel's annexation plans were off the table.

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Netanyahu has underlined that annexation is not off the table, but has simply been delayed.

A senior Israeli source also said Trump’s administration had requested to temporarily suspend the announcement of annexations "to first implement the historic peace agreement with the UAE.”

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