A prominent and controversial Jordanian writer, who was on trial for sharing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam, has been shot dead outside the court in Amman where he was due to appear. On Sunday, he was shot in the head three times as he arrived for a hearing. The cartoon Hattar shared in August, entitled The God of Daesh (Isis), depicted an Isis militant sitting next to two women and asking God to bring him a drink. Following a furore, Hattar insisted that he had not meant to insult Islam, but shared the cartoon to “expose” how Isis “envisions God and heaven”. A deeply controversial figure on the left of Jordanian politics, Hattar has faced charges before, including for insulting the country’s king, Abdullah II.

Source: The Guardian September 25, 2016 10:00 UTC