*ADDS REACTIONS
By Laith al-Junaidi
AMMAN (AA) – A prominent Jordanian writer was shot dead outside court Sunday where he was standing trial on charges of contempt of religion.
Writer Nahed Hattar was struck by three bullets before the assailant was arrested, the official Petra news agency quoted a security source as saying.
The Jordanian Public Security Directorate said Hattar had been rushed to hospital where he had breathed his last.
The controversial writer was detained in August for sharing a caricature seen offensive to Islam on his Facebook page.
He was released on bail earlier this month and put on trial on charges of contempt of religion and stoking sectarian strife.
Sunday’s killing has invited a storm of condemnations across the Hashemite kingdom.
In a statement, the General Iftaa Department, Jordan’s highest religious authority, distanced the Islamic religion from the writer’s killing.
“Islam forbids anybody from setting himself as a ruler or a judge who holds the people accountable because this would lead to chaos, ruin the society and cause sedition among the sons of the society,” it said.
The Islamic Action Front, the political wing of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood group, also decried the killing.
“We denounce the principle of punishment in an individual way and warn against making this incident as a start for sectarian sedition,” it said in a statement.
