Jordanian authorities have used a sweeping gag order, harassment, and arrests to limit media coverage of ongoing protests stemming from the arbitrary closure of the Jordanian Teachers’ Syndicate on July 25, 2020, Human Rights Watch said today. Police beat two journalists who covered the protests. Restrictions on teachers’ protest coverage reflected a broader degradation of press freedom in recent years.
“Jordan’s cynical exploitation of arbitrary measures such as gag orders and arrests to silence journalists is only the latest in a series of restrictions on press freedoms in the country,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Jordan will not solve its myriad of economic and political problems by cracking down on journalists and limiting free speech.”