Jordanian writer shot dead at point blank range for sharing anti-Islam cartoon

Jordan: A famous Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar, 56 was shot dead at point blank range on the steps of a court in Amman’s central Abdali district on Sunday where he was facing charges for sharing an anti-Islam cartoon on Facebook. According to a Jordanian security official, the gunman was a former imam, or prayer leader, at a local mosque, who had been stimulated by his anger over the cartoon posted by Hattar on Facebook.
According to reports from the official Petra news agency, Mr Hattar was struck by three bullets before the alleged shooter was arrested at the scene of the incident.

A security source told AFP that the bearded gunman dressed in a grey dishdasha worn by conservative Muslim men shot Mr Hattar, a Christian, three times as he made his way up the steps outside the court.

Mr. Hattar's friend Mohammad al-Jaghbir, told AFP he had witnessed the killing.

“We were climbing the steps when a bearded man ... got a pistol out of a bag he was carrying and fired at Nahed Hattar,” he said.

The sources added that Hattar was hit in the head and was later pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

Mr Hattar’s family said the victim had no protection despite having asked for it after receiving series of death threats on Facebook and by phone.

A man cleans the blood outside the court entrance where Nahed Hattar was shot dead

Mr Hattar who is known for his support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was a political commentator known for his aversion towards Islamists including Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood.

Sources said the 49-year-old gunman, a resident of Amman, surrendered himself to police at the court.

According to a judicial source, the gunman was remanded for 15 days and charged with premeditated murder, meaning he could face the death penalty if convicted.

A source close to his interrogation said, said the suspect, had acted alone and was not linked to any “terrorist” group.

Security official said the suspect said he was angered by a cartoon Mr Hattar had posted on his Facebook page featuring an illustration of God under the title “God of Daesh”, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

The cartoon depicts a bearded man in bed smoking with two women lying on either side of him, addressing God as a servant.

The man then asks for a glass of wine, cashew nuts and orders someone to clean the floor, before telling God to knock before entering next time.

Any illustration of God is prohibited in Islam.

Mr Hattar later deleted the cartoon after it triggered social media outrage and later explained on Facebook that the cartoon made fun of “terrorists and how they imagine God and heaven, and does not insult God in any way”.

Hattar was arrested on August 13 and charged with inciting sectarian conflict and insulting Islam, before he was released on bail in early September.

Mr Hattar’s brother Majed, who accompanied him to his trial, on Sunday blamed the government for his death.

“We hold the prime minister, the minister of the interior and the security services responsible for Nahed’s killing,” Majed said.

“Nahed Hattar was killed in cold blood in front of the highest institution of justice in Jordan.”

The government had denounced the killing as “heinous” and said the law would be “firmly applied to the person who committed the crime”.

The opposition Muslim Brotherhood and Dar al-Iftaa, the highest religious authority in the country, also condemned the attack.