Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned the assassination of prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar who was murdered Monday as he entered an Amman court to stand trial for insulting religion.

Authorities arrested Hattar on August 13, after he posted an anti-Daesh cartoon to his Facebook page in which the cartoonist depicted God’s face, said the organization on its website. 

“Nahed Hattar’s senseless murder in front of an Amman courthouse comes on the heels of the government’s senseless charges against him over a cartoon he posted to his Facebook page,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Arbitrary prosecutions for defamation of religion stigmatize individuals and make them targets for vigilante reprisals.”

Jordan’s new cabinet should take immediate steps to introduce legislation to remove defamation of religion charges from the country’s penal code. The charges limit free speech and put anyone charged with such an offense in danger, Human Rights Watch said.

Source: MENA