A prominent Jordanian cartoonist has reportedly been arrested late on Wednesday night following a caricature, in which he sarcastically addressed the tensions between the UAE and Israel only a few weeks after a normalization deal between the two countries was announced by the US President Donald Trump.
'Israel asks US not to sell F35 to Emirates'
— נעם בנעט - نوعم بنعط - Noam Bannett (@aravimislam) August 26, 2020
That's the title of @EmadHajjaj of Jordan. In a caricature we see the Crown Prince @mohamedbinzayed also known as #MBZ holds a dove spitting 'spit 35' on him.
According to reports Hajjaj was arrested in Jordan over this caricature. pic.twitter.com/wEmagXxN6P
In his caricature, Emad Hajjaj depicted the Emirati crown prince Mohammad bin Zayed holding a pigeon with the Israeli flag spitting on MBZ's face, hinting at what has been dubbed as "the peace deal" not yet finalized between the two countries, which has faced tensions recently after an Israeli rejection of a US arms deal to the UAE.
Over the last week, several reports have suggested that the UAE may be canceling scheduled meetings with Israeli officials, in response to statements made by the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he said he will ask the US to halt an arms deal to the UAE which is expected to include advanced F35 combat aircraft. The Israeli rejection of the arms sale was justified by the country's fear of losing its long-established military advantage in the Middle East.
We want freedom for @EmadHajjaj the legendary artist who got under arrest just because he speak his mind and spill the truth. #عماد_حجاج pic.twitter.com/mLqxj8qkhQ
— ?? (@thetalkingrawan) August 27, 2020
As soon as news of Hajjaj's arrest went viral online, several commentators including popular journalists tweeted in solidarity with the prominent cartoonist saying; freedom of speech in Jordan continues to be threatened ever since the Jordanian government issued the cybercrime law in 2015, which, according to Human Rights Watch has "broad and vague provisions."
Upon the announcement of Abraham Accords between the UAE and Israel two weeks ago, the UAE has come under fire as many pro-Palestinian voices considered the deal "unnecessary and comes in violation of the Arabs' long-commitment to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which conditions the Arab recognition of Israel with the establishment of a Palestinian state in the Palestinian occupied territories during the 1967 war."
Palestinian-Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj just got arrested for his new work criticizing the UAE for capitulating to US imperialism & normalizing relations with Israel at the expense of Palestinians under apartheid. This blatant censorship is inhumane & vile#الحرية_لعماد_حجاج https://t.co/6SR4JciRkg
— F Æ S-A1 / فيصل (@faisal_al98) August 26, 2020
#Jordan arrests caricature artist for mocking and satirising peace treaty between UAE and Israel.
— Christina Themelis (@tinathemelis) August 27, 2020
Earlier a controversy sparked as Prince Ali denounced the same treaty#FreedomOfSpeech#Democracy#الأردن#الحرية_لعماد_حجاج https://t.co/i1EetEU98o
Yesterday, a senior member of the royal family in Jordan seemed pressured to remove a tweet; in which he had shared an article written in English by the Israeli historian Avi Shlaim and addressing the messages entailed in the UAE-Israeli deal, after igniting strong online controversies amongst Emirati and Saudi commentators.
#عماد_حجاج People should be able of speaking up their mind and thoughts without getting thrown behind bars. FREEDOM OF SPEECH where did that go? I as a Jordanian citizen should have my freedom of speech, let us share what we think! pic.twitter.com/kL0EMr1RbF
— Noor Allozi (@NoorAllozi) August 26, 2020
According to a 2020 report by Reporters Without Borders, Jordan ranks the 128th country out of 180 worldwide in terms of freedom of the press.
