Former Al Jazeera journalist Ali Younes arrested in Amman for 'sharing article' questioning US aid to Jordan

Jordanian authorities have arrested and prosecuted investigative journalist Ali Younes after he allegedly reposted an article calling on Washington to cut billions of dollars in aid to the kingdom.

Younes, a Jordanian-American citizen and correspondent for the US-based investigative outlet Drop Site News, disclosed the case on Monday.

Jordanian intelligence officers detained him on 17 August after he arrived at Queen Alia International Airport. They questioned him before ordering him to appear before prosecutors in Amman.

Security officials told Younes and his lawyer that the case centred on his reposting of an article published by The American Conservative questioning US aid.

In July, The American Conservative published an article under the headline “Stop Sending Billions in U.S. Aid to Jordan”. 

The article questioned Washington’s extensive financial support for the Jordanian monarchy.

“It is reasonable to ask why Americans thousands of miles away should be footing the bill for Jordan when [King] Abdullah has amassed a fortune that he keeps stashed abroad rather than using it to care for his own population,” the article said.

Jordan has received $33.8bn in American assistance over the past 75 years and is set to receive billions more under continuing agreements with Washington.

Authorities treated Younes’s alleged decision to repost the article as the crime of “undermining the national security of Jordan”.

During a court hearing on Monday, prosecutors added charges of “sedition and hate crimes” in connection with the post, according to Drop Site News. Authorities also imposed a travel ban on Younes.

The prosecution marks another attack on press freedom in Jordan.

Younes previously worked for Al Jazeera and has contributed to The New York Times, Fox News, CNN and the BBC.

Drop Site News said it “calls on Jordanian authorities to immediately drop the case against Ali Younes and lift the travel ban against him, and also calls on the U.S. government to provide him assistance as a US citizen in the face of these spurious charges.”