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'Poet of Al-Qaeda' to serve 18 months in Jordan
 A military court on Monday sentenced to 18 months in jail a Jordanian man dubbed the "poet of Al-Qaeda" for libel against King Abdullah II on the Internet, a judicial source said.
"Here you sit,
Broken-hearted.
You been sentenced.
Your term has started." |
"The accused, Mahmoud Zuhairi, who is known as the 'poet of Al-Qaeda,' slandered the king in a poem posted on the Internet, in which he also showered Al-Qaeda with praise," the source from the state security court told AFP.
"Roses is red,
Violets is blue,
Sombody's in jug.
I think that it's you!" |
Zuhairi's lawyer Abdel-Jabbar Abu Gulleh denied the charges and told AFP he would appeal the sentence within 30 days, in line with the law. Gulleh acknowledged that Zuhairi had published a 12-page poem on an Islamic Web site "praising jihad, the mujahideen and attacking US President George W. Bush ... But he never defamed the king," the lawyer said.
"Some like 'em big,
Some likes 'em small,
What he's gettin' jugged for
Never happened a-tall." |
According to the charges, Zuhairi frequently visited web sites that support Al-Qaeda. "He used to publish poems praising Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and associates, until he became known as the poet of Al-Qaeda."
Posted by: Fred 2007-10-02 |
