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AMMAN - A critic of Jordan's royal family has been sentenced to two years in jail for sending emails abroad that the court ruled to be carrying "false news" and harmful to the dignity of the state.
The verdict against Ahmad Oweidi al-Abbadi, after a two-month trial, comes at a time that human rights groups are voicing concern about what they call an official clampdown on the media.
Judicial sources said Abbadi, a right wing former deputy, was found guilty on three charges of undermining state dignity, publishing "false news" on emails sent to foreign figures and illegally distributing leaflets.
Abbadi had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Before his arrest, Abbadi had stepped up criticism of Jordan's royal family and accused top officials of corruption on a website he ran. Supporters said he had sent an email to US Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, decrying what he called a steep rise in official corruption.
Authorities announced this month that websites would be subject to a tough press law that is widely seen as censorship. The law bans articles seen as being in contempt of religion, damaging to national unity or offensive to public morals.
Jordan has tough laws against slandering King Abdullah or Jordan's royal family.
International human rights groups have denounced Abbadi's arrest as politically motivated and called for his release.
Abbadi is from a prominent tribe that wields big influence in Jordan's security services and government.
The 62-year old former police colonel and author of dozens of books on Jordan's tribal roots has long held strong views against the presence of Palestinians who settled in the kingdom after successive Arab-Israeli wars.
- REUTERS
