By Hani Hazaimeh

AMMAN - Amman Prosecutor General Hassan Abdallat on Tuesday subpoenaed several Danish journalists and editors involved in the republication of offensive caricatures depicting the Prophet Mohammad.

In April, the “Messenger of Allah Unites Us” campaign filed a lawsuit against Danish newspapers for republishing the offensive cartoons.

Campaign organisers welcomed the decision, noting that Jordan’s judicial system set a precedent for the entire region.

The prosecutor’s decision to subpoena the defendants was based on articles in the Jordanian Penal Code and the Press and Publication Law.

The defendants will be informed of the move and requested to attend a hearing by their embassy in the Kingdom through diplomatic channels, campaign spokesperson Zakaria Sheikh told reporters yesterday.

“We call on the defendants to abide by the prosecutor’s decision and come to Jordan and defend themselves,” he said, stressing that the court will dismiss the case if the prosecutor is convinced that they are not guilty, and no trial will take place.

The court has already heard the testimonies of Jordan Bar Association President Saleh Armouti, Christian and Muslim MPs, former Jordan Press Association president Tareq Momani and representative of the International Council of Churches Odeh Qawwas.

Members of media outlets, professional syndicates and political parties have also participated in the lawsuit, while a list of 10,000 signatures protesting against the “unlawful” spread of hatred was submitted to the court.

Sheikh stressed that an international law must be adopted by all countries criminalising any act deemed to be insulting to any religion, including Islam.

“This is the only way to stave off any violent backlash by Muslims who feel deeply offended,” he added.

Referring to Monday’s attacks on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Sheikh said the campaign strongly condemns the use of violence as a response to attacks on Islam and the Prophet Mohammad.

“We condemn the attack on the Danish embassy in Pakistan, however, we place the blame squarely on the Danish authorities for not acting decisively against those who insulted Islam by publishing offensive cartoons,” he added.

The campaign spokesperson noted that a concentrated and coordinated boycott of Dutch and Danish products is the most effective way to respond, stressing that all acts of violence against those who insult Islam must cease immediately.

Sheikh noted that on June 10 the campaign will file a lawsuit against Dutch MP Geert Wilders, who posted a anti-Islamic film on the Internet in late March.

Parallel to this procedure, the campaign will enter the second phase of its boycott of Dutch and Danish products, which will include the distribution of more than one million posters in Arab and Muslim countries, he added.

The second phase of the boycott, which will be held under the slogan, “Live Without It”, will put the campaign in “full force”, according to Sheikh, who said it will include highway billboards, posters, t-shirts, bumper stickers and the like, to inform consumers not only to boycott foods, but anything associated with Denmark or the Netherlands.

The campaign was launched in late February after Danish newspapers reprinted an offensive cartoon of the Prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb.

The image, which was first published in 2005 as part of a series, sparked global protests at the time.

Danish and other European publications reprinted the cartoon earlier this year, a day after three people were arrested for allegedly plotting to kill the artist who drew the caricature.