His Excellency Ali Abu Ragheb
Prime Minister of Jordan
Office of the Prime Minister
Amman
Jordan

Fax: (009626) 464 2520

Vienna, 11 September 2000

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives, strongly condemns the Jordan Press Association’s (JPA) expulsion of its secretary-general, Nidal Mansour, which effectively bars him for life from working as a journalist.

On 5 September, the JPA expelled Nidal Mansour, who is also chief editor of the weekly Al-Hadath, in connection with his founding of the Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ), of which he is also president. In July, the JPA’s disciplinary council launched an investigation against Mansour, charging him with violating the Association’s by-laws by not working full-time as a journalist and for accepting funds from overseas for the CDFJ’s activities.

Expulsion from the JPA, if ratified by the High Court of Justice, effectively bans any journalist from working legally in Jordan, since both the JPA’s by-laws and the Press and Publications Law dictate that all practising members of the profession must belong to the JPA. We understand that Nidal Mansour must appeal to the High Court within 60 days, or the decision automatically becomes final.

IPI regards Mansour’s expulsion as a flagrant violation of international guarantees of free expression and association, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Jordanian Constitution. His expulsion is also a reminder that commitments made by King Abdullah II and senior political figures to the cause of press freedom during an IPI conference on “Freedom of Expression and the Media in Jordan” remain unfulfilled. At the IPI meeting, held in Amman on 5 February 2000, participants passed a joint resolution calling for a number of changes to the Jordanian legislation, including the amendment of the Jordan Press Association Law to end mandatory membership for journalists and to remove all conditions on who may practice journalism.

We therefore urge Your Excellency to do everything in your power to ensure that Nidal Mansour is allowed to remain a member of the JPA and thus continue his work as a journalist. We further urge the repeal of legislation making JPA membership a requirement for the legitimate practice of journalism in Jordan.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director