Abusers of Istanbul victims to be tracked, sued

AMMAN — A source from the Public Security Department (PSD) on Tuesday said that the department's anti-cybercrime unit has already started tracing social media accounts of people who insulted Jordanian victims killed in the Istanbul terrorist attack.

The source said that investigations are expected to identify the accounts’ owners, after which they will be arrested and referred to judiciary to be tried under the Cyber Crimes Law and the Penal Code, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The measure came in response to posts entailing verbal abuse of the victims and their families, in addition to promoting hate speech and divisive rhetoric among Jordanian community members.

The abusive comments drew an angry reaction from Jordanians. Al Ghad columnist Jumana Ghneimat said that those who praised the terrorist attack “are good for nothing except passing negative judgements on others”, describing them as “assassins of humanity who share the same mentality of terrorists, regardless of the weapons they use, whether guns or keyboards”. 

The PSD called on social media users to consider materials they post or share as it could  be in violation of the  law and the Jordanian traditions.