JERUSALEM – A well-known Jordanian writer and political activist was fatally shot Sunday morning as he headed into a courtroom in Amman to face charges over a cartoon he posted on his Facebook page that some deemed offensive to Islam. The writer, 56-year-old Nahed Hattar, was hit by three bullets on the steps of the courthouse in a prominent business and residential district in the Jordanian capital, according to Petra, the state-run news agency. Hattar, a secular Christian, was arrested in August for posting a cartoon on his Facebook page titled “the God of Daesh,” an alternative name for the Islamic State militant group. Hattar was arrested and spent two weeks in jail before being freed on bail. Jordan is ruled by King Abdullah II, a close ally of the United States, and is a member of the coalition that has been mounting aerial attacks against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

Source: National Post September 25, 2016 15:22 UTC