Jordanian authorities released journalist Hiba Abu Taha on Thursday, February 13, upon completing her prison sentence.
In June, 2024, Hiba was sentenced to one year in prison for violating Jordan’s controversial Cybercrime Law by allegedly “spreading false news, slandering, insulting or defaming a governmental authority or an official body,” and “inciting discord and strife among members of society, targeting community peace, and inciting violence.”
One of those charges was reportedly imposed on Abu Taha for an article she wrote, in which she criticized Jordan’s interception of Iranian drones and rockets launched against Israel in April, 2024.
Meanwhile, she faced the other charge for writing an investigative report, exposing Jordanian companies, which were transporting goods to Israel through the Jordanian territory during Israel’s genocidal aggression on Gaza.
The imprisonment of Abu Taha and the enactment of the Cybercrime Law were widely criticized by international human rights and press freedom organizations. These organizations described Hiba’s imprisonment as a “huge setback for press freedom” in Jordan. They labelled the Cybercrime Law “draconian.”
In October 2024, an online campaign titled “We stand in solidarity with Hiba Abu Taha” was also launched by 24 media platforms, including Peoples Dispatch. However, the Jordanian authorities ignored the widespread opposition from organizations and grassroots campaigns, and continued Hiba’s incarceration until the last day of her prison sentence.
