First prison sentences announced for reprinting Mohammed cartoons

Reporters Without Borders protested today against two-month jail sentences imposed yesterday by a Jordanian court on two journalists, Jihad Momani and Hisham Al-Khalidi, for reprinting cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that appeared in a Danish paper last year and expressed concern about journalists being harshly punished for doing so. “This is the first time journalists have been given prison sentences for reproducing the cartoons,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “The sentences are totally out of proportion. We hope they will be reduced on appeal. We urge other Muslim countries where journalists are being prosecuted for this not to follow Jordan's example. Journalists must not be punished for their editorial decisions. The two journalists in this case were simply doing their job by choosing to reproduce the cartoons, like dozens of other media outlets around the world.” Momani and Al-Khalidi, who were arrested in February, will appeal against their conviction for offending religious feelings, their lawyer said, and if it was rejected they would spend only 32 days in prison because they had already been detained for half the period of their sentence. They have been freed pending their appeal. The weekly Shihan reprinted three of the cartoons and called on Muslims worldwide to be “reasonable,” while the weekly Al Mehwar printed all 12 of them alongside an article about criticism of their publication. Momani, editor of Al Mehwar, was dismissed on 2 February.