Jordanians call on govt to resign after writer’s murder

By Laith al-Junaidi

AMMAN

Hundreds of Jordanians demonstrated in Amman on Monday to demand the government’s dismissal one day after the murder of a controversial writer accused of showing contempt for religion.

Leftist writer Nahed Hattar was shot dead outside a courthouse on Tuesday where he had been scheduled to face charges of showing contempt for religion for sharing a cartoon on Facebook deemed offensive to Islam.

The Jordanian authorities have yet to provide the name of the assailant, who was arrested minutes after the shooting.

Demonstrators gathered outside the cabinet premises in Amman, where they chanted slogans calling for the government of Prime Minister Hani Mulki to step down.

Waving banners bearing Hattar’s image, protesters also chanted slogans condemning violence and the Daesh terrorist group, which maintains a significant presence in neighboring Iraq and Syria.

On Sunday, Mulki -- who was appointed in May -- was asked by Jordanian King Abdullah II to draw up a new government after last week’s parliamentary election.

The new assembly -- in which Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood will have a significant presence following an eight-year hiatus -- is expected to convene next month.