You are here

Khoury testifies before security court over March tweets

By Rana Husseini - May 06,2015 - Last updated at May 06,2015

AMMAN — MP Tarek Khoury on Wednesday gave testimony before State Security Court judge in connection with a lawsuit filed against him by a citizen in early March.

In the lawsuit, Khoury was accused of insulting Jordanians in tweets he wrote following His Majesty King Abdullah’s televised address to the nation at the time. 

The plaintiff subsequently dropped the lawsuit but the case remains in court to safeguard the public right, according to veteran lawyer Ahmad Najdawi.

“Even though the citizen dropped charges against the deputy, he still has to be tried because a case was registered against him,” Najdawi told The Jordan Times.

According to the Constitution, MPs enjoy immunity while Parliament is in session.  Currently, the two Houses are in recess as the ordinary session ended earlier this month.

In his March tweets, the Zarqa MP used the slogan raised by the King, “Be proud,” as a hashtag in Arabic and commented on several controversial issues related to the country’s dealings with Israel.

“I went to court today and gave testimony regarding my tweets and other issues, and the judge informed me that the SSC will contact me at a later stage,” Khoury told The Jordan Times. 

Khoury apologised during a Lower House session later in March, saying that his tweets were aimed at the government and not the King. He also said he has never criticised the Monarch, claiming that he is the target of an “organised campaign”.

The deputy has maintained that his remarks did not conflict with the King’s address.

“His Majesty did not tell us to be silent; on the contrary, he called in his speech for fighting darkness and dark ideologies,” the MP wrote on his Facebook page in March.

Those who attack people’s freedom of speech and use hate speech are the ones who are at odds with what the King said, Khoury added, noting that His Majesty said members of society should stand in solidarity as one family.

up
70 users have voted.


Newsletter

Get top stories and blog posts emailed to you each day.

PDF