Christian-born writer shot dead for posting anti-Islam cartoon

A well known Jordanian writer was shot and killed outside a court in Amman, Jordan on Sunday before he was set to appear in a trial over charges of sharing an anti-Islamic cartoon over Facebook, according to the state news agency Petra.

Nahed Hattar, a Christian-born atheist, was charged for inciting sectarian strife and insulting Islam after posting the cartoon on social media earlier this year.

The cartoon entitled ‘The God of Daesh (ISIS),’ depicted an ISIS militant in heaven, sitting in between two women in bed, and asking for God to bring him a drink.

Petra reported that the gunman was arrested at the scene after shooting Hattar three times in the head at close range when he arrived for the hearing. According to a witness, Hattar’s two brothers and friend, who accompanied him, chased down the gunman and turned him over to the authorities.

The Jordanian government has denounced Hattar’s killing as a “heinous” crime, but his family is holding Jordan’s prime minister, Hani al-Mulki, responsible.