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Alert

Jordanian journalist sentenced to death for "spying"

(RSF/IFEX) - On 22 October 2002, the Qatari Supreme Court sentenced Jordanian journalist Firas Majali to death for "espionage".




"We are appalled by this sentence and at the prospect that it might be carried out," said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. "Without going into the details of the charges against the journalist, we note that his trial took place in a climate of very tense relations between Jordan and Qatar. As such, we are concerned that the journalist's trial could not be held in calm conditions."

The Qatar-based television station Al-Jazeera's 6 August broadcast of a very critical programme about Jordan triggered the immediate cancellation of the work permits of the station's journalists in the country and the closure of its office in Amman (see IFEX alert of 8 August 2002). The Jordanian authorities accused the station of "subversion" and "insulting the royal family", and the national media strongly criticised Qatar.

Majali, who worked for Qatari state television, was arrested in the Qatari capital, Doha, in February, and his trial began in May. His lawyer has 15 days to appeal the decision. Al-Jazeera said Majali was accused of spying for Jordan, but his lawyer simply said it was for "a foreign country."