Jordan prosecutor starts hearing in lawsuit against Danish papers

Apr 22, 2008, 16:29 GMT

Amman - Amman's public prosecutor on Tuesday began hearings in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 30 Jordanian media establishments against a dozen Danish papers which reprinted controversial cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammed, judicial sources said.

The coalition, which is waging a campaign entitled The Prophet Unites Us, is seeking 'moral and material compensation' for the damages caused by the reprinting of the pictures, the group's lawyer Tareq Hawamdeh said.

'The lawsuit is based on the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Penal Code and the Press and Printing Law,' he added.

The reprinting of the controversial cartoons by 17 Danish newspapers in mid-February drew sharp reactions in the Arab and Islamic worlds, including calls for boycott of Danish products and the expulsion of Danish envoys from Jordan and other Arab countries.

Public prosecutor Hassan Abdullat on Tuesday heard testimonies by the anti-Denmark campaign's leader Zakariya al-Sheikh, Member of the Jordanian lower house of parliament Ali Dalaeen and head of the Foodstuffs Traders Association Khalil Haj Tawfiq.

The chairman of the Jordan Bar Association Saleh Armouti, head of the Jordan Pharmacists Association Taher Shakhshir and chairman of the Amman-based Arab Human Rights Organization Hani Dahleh are to testify Wednesday.

The cartoons were originally printed by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September 2006, sparking protests and violence from Muslims offended by the material worldwide.