US embassy cable - 05AMMAN2051

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 002051 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDAN: ALI HATTAR SLANDER CASE PROCEEDS 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 571 
 
     B. AMMAN 686 
     C. AMMAN 1924 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (U)  Defense witnesses testified on March 7 in the case 
of Engineers' Association member Ali Hattar, who is accused 
of slandering the government during a speech he delivered at 
the Professional Associations complex on December 14 (refs A 
and B).  The lecture, entitled "Why We Boycott America," was 
organized by the associations' banned anti-normalization 
committee.  Hattar is being tried in the Court of First 
Instance on charges of violating Article 191 of the Penal 
Code. 
 
2.  (U)  During the session, Engineer Sufian Tell, one of 
four defense witnesses who attended the lecture, said: "I 
attended the entire lecture and I did not hear Hattar curse 
or slander the government," according to the English-language 
Jordan Times.  The judge adjourned the session until March 21 
to hear more defense witnesses in the case. 
 
3.  (U)  Hattar pleaded not guilty to the charges when his 
trial opened last month, according to the press report.  In a 
written statement presented to the judge, Hattar claimed that 
he was "only delivering a scientific lecture and exercising 
his constitutional right of freedom of expression." 
 
4.  (C)  Comment:  The substance of Hattar's alleged 
criticism of the government is unclear; post is seeking a 
copy of the indictment.  Although his brief detention and 
release on bail in December generated widespread local press 
coverage, his court case, which proceeds against the backdrop 
of the festering conflict between the GOJ and the 
professional associations over the latter's alleged 
"political activity," has not (ref C).  This may be 
deliberate: a journalist told IO on January 27 that the GOJ 
had issued "instructions" to the media not to report the 
mention of Ali Hattar during President Bush's press 
conference the day before, an order with which they dutifully 
complied. 
 
5.  (U)  Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through 
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page. 
HALE