Saturday, December 20, 2014

Jordan: military trial for "insulting a friendly state"

Zaki Bani Arshid
A leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan is protesting against being tried in a military court on charges of insulting a friendly state. Military and civilian codes in a variety of countries criminalize conduct such as speaking contemptuously of the head of state of other officials (think art. 88, UCMJ in the U.S.; lèse majesté in Thailand; insulting the army or the flag in other countries), but this is the first Global Military Justice Reform has heard of a crime of insulting some other country. Ammon News reports that "Bani Arshid was detained last month after he publicly described the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a 'top sponsor of terrorism.'"

1 comment:

  1. Postscript: This may be catching. Egypt has under consideration a decree that would criminalize insulting the 2011 and 2013 revolutions. Here's a link:
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/03/us-egypt-sisi-revolutions-idUSKCN0JH2AM20141203

    ReplyDelete

Comments are subject to moderation and must be submitted under your real name. Anonymous comments will not be posted (even though the form seems to permit them).