Ammon News - By Shaherah Khatatbeh

AMMONNEWS - Dozens of Journalists and political activists on Friday staged a protest in front of the Prime Ministry calling for the immediate release of Jordanian journalist Alaa’ Fazzaa'.

They demanded the government to stop arresting and harassing journalists, and blasted security encroachment on their work in "stoat violation of freedoms of the press."

Fazzaa' was arrested and detained on Wednesday by orders of the State Security Court (SSC), a special military court, over news he published on an electronic news site that relayed material posted on a Facebook page calling for reinstating Prince Hamzah as Crown Prince.

Fazzaa's detention came on the backof a complaint filed by former Minister of Public Works Muhammad Taleb Obeidat and former Minister of Media Affairs and Communications Nabil Sharif against him over the report which listed their names as figures that had joined the Facebook page.

The protestors stood in solidarity with Fazza', stressing that as a journalist, he merely reported news, and that his arrest contradicts King Abdullah's repeated directives against the detention of journalists. They also criticized the labeling of Fazzaa's report as a "crime against the Jordanian Constitution."

King Abdullah was informed of Fazzaa's arrest on Wednesday during a meeting with editors-in-chief of daily newspapers, and he had issued direct orders for Fazzaa's release shortly after the meeting.

Fazzaa' however, remains detained at Al Juwaideh prison after the prosecution denied his bail, citing that bail may only be placed to release detainees on Mondays and Wednesdays, despite the King's directives for his release.

The protesting journalists and political activists on Friday called on the government to stop its "aggressive harassment" against journalists, and wondered "how they [the State Security Court] ignored the king's orders to release Fazzaa’, and refused bailing him."

Head of the Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CFJ) Nidal Mansour indicated that such measures taken against Fazzaa', including transferring his case from a civilian court to a special military court by orders of Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, is in direct contradiction of international customs and laws and aim to frighten journalists and restrict their freedoms.

A number of political activists, public officials, and rights activists took part in the protest, including opposition figure Laith Shbeilat, MP Khalil Attiyah, Islamic Action Front (IAF) leading figure Zaki Bani Ersheid and Murad Adayleh from the Muslim Brotherhood, representatives of the National Committee for Military Veterans, teachers', Unionists for Reform, and representatives of Arab and foreign press and NGOs, in addition to Fazzaa's family members.

Fazzaa’ had worked for a number of Jordanian electronic news sites, and has been active in the pro-reform movement witnessed in the Kingdom in the past few months.