Six Years Later, Jordan Readies To Try Danish Mohammed Cartoonist In Abstentia

The Jerusalem Post reports that "almost six years after a series of cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Mohammad were published by a Danish newspaper, a Jordanian court is taking upon itself to try in absentia cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and 19 other journalists and editors. In a trial scheduled to get underway, they are charged with publishing offensive material against the Prophet... critics say the legal proceedings are a propaganda exercise and a way for the government to polish its image among certain groups as Jordan’s King Abdullah grapples with demands for democratic and other reforms. The case was initiated in 2005 by a group of Jordanian intellectuals and journalists, not long after the cartoons were published. But it lay dormant for years, collecting dust in drawers of the court ever since. Last month, in the midst of a regional turmoil that plagued the region, the sensitive file was resurrected by an Amman prosecutor-general and the trial is back under the spotlight. The 12 cartoons depicting Muhammad commissioned by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September 2005 sparked protests across the Muslim world resulting in a total of more than 100 reported deaths as well as arson attacks on Danish embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. Ironically, the Danish newspaper had hoped the cartoon would contribute to the debate over freedom to criticize Islam."
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