The editor of the Jordanian weekly, Al-Majd, was arrested on Sunday, according to sources close to the state prosecutor, after publishing an article criticizing the performance of Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb and his administration.
"The management of Al-Majd urges society's representatives to help it dispose of these measures which demonstrate the decline of democratic civil liberties contrary to the assertions of the government on this matter," the weekly announced. It added "The dissolving of the ministry of information and the creation of the supreme information council has not stopped the government from working to suppress civil liberties".
The State prosecutor ordered that the weekly editor, Fahd Rimawi, be held for 15 days, but added that he could be freed as early as Monday with a warning, according to AFP.
Rimawi was arrested for having "written and published false information liable to undermine the prestige of the state and its reputation, as well as the dignity of its people," according to the sources.
In October 2001, King Abdullah II ordered Abu Ragheb to dissolve the information ministry as part of a social and economic reform policy. Analysts then said the move was a sign of the King’s determination to create more openness, despite the fact the government had recently adopted a series of restrictive press laws.
The editor of another weekly, Al Shahed, was detained for a day in December for publishing a caricature of Arab foreign ministers. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
