Jordan court frees journalist accused of violating news ban

Amman: A government-owned newspaper says Jordan’s state security court has released a staff reporter who was detained last week for allegedly violating a ban on writing about a foiled terror plot. The Al-Rai daily reported today that Ghazi Mrayat was freed on bail a day earlier after initially being ordered held for 15 days. At issue was a follow-up story Mrayat wrote about the arrest of an Iraqi suspect who allegedly was sent by an Iranian group to carry out bombings in Jordan. The journalist was detained two days after a state security court imposed the news blackout last week. Al-Rai has said it did not receive the gag order in writing. The Jordanian journalists’ association and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists had called for Mrayat’s release.