Jordanian writer shot dead before trial for insulting Islam

A prominent and controversial Jordanian writer, who was on trial for sharing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam, was shot dead by a gunman outside the court in Amman.

Nahed Hattard, 56, was shot outside the court where he was due to appear after he posted a cartoon on Facebook earlier this year that he said mocked jihadi attitudes, for which he was facing charges in Jordan of inciting sectarian strife and insulting Islam.

Hattar, a Christian and a anti-Islamist activist who was a supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was arrested last month after he shared a caricature that depicted a bearded man in heaven smoking in bed with women and asking God to bring him wine and cashews.

In the cartoon, the man also asks God to clear his dishes and put a door on his tent and knock before entering.

Many conservative Muslim Jordanians considered Hattar's move offensive and against their religion. The authorities said he violated the law by sharing the caricature.

Having been arrested in August, the Christian writer was released on bail in early September.

On Sunday, he was shot in the head three times as he arrived for a hearing.

"The assailant was arrested and investigations are ongoing," state news agency Petra said while quoting a security source as saying.

Two witnesses said the gunman, bearded and in his 50s, was wearing a traditional Arab dishdasha.

Saad Hattar, a cousin of the victim, said relatives and friends of the writer apprehended his suspected killer.

“Nahed was accompanied with two brothers and a friend when he was shot. The brothers and the friend chased the killer and caught him and handed him over to the police,” he said.

He said the family held Jordan’s prime minister, Hani al-Mulki, responsible for Hattar’s death.

“The prime minister was the first one who incited against Nahed when he ordered his arrest and put him on trial for sharing the cartoon, and that ignited the public against him and led to his killing,” Saad Hattar said.

In a statement, the family called on the government to hold accountable all those who had incited violence against Hattar.

“Many fanatics wrote on social media calling for his killing and lynching, and the government did nothing against them,” they said.

Some secular and liberal supporters of Hattar said his arrest last month was a breach of freedom of speech but other Jordanians thought the caricature's publication had crossed a red line in a Muslim country where it is a taboo to attack God or the Prophet.

Following a furore, Hattar insisted that he had not meant to insult Islam, but shared the cartoon to “expose” how Isis “envisions God and heaven”. He had accused his Islamist opponents of using the cartoon to settle scores with him.

The Jordanian government condemned the attack.

"The law will be strictly enforced on the culprit who did this criminal act and will hit with an iron fist anyone who tries to harm state of law," government spokesman Mohammad Momani said.