By Mohammad Ben Hussein

Chief editors of the two weekly tabloids, Shihan and Al Mihwar were denied bail for the second time on Thursday, according to a statement released by the Centre for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ). Jihad Momani and Hashem Khalidi, who had been released on bail on Sunday, were rearrested on Monday after the Press and Publication Department filed a lawsuit against them for republishing offensive cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

Also on Thursday, Momani’s first hearing in the Conciliation Court was adjourned until Feb.16, after his lawyer Mohmmad Quteishat told the judge that his client’s health prevented him from attending the session. Momani and Khalidi are both in hospital "due to stress and exhaustion… They are in stable condition, under police arrest in hospital," according to Nidal Mansour head of CDFJ. The two journalists were admitted to hospital after they complained of chest pains, according to their doctors. "The centre will submit another request to free Momani and Khalidi next Sunday …"

Source: [The Jordan Times]

It is worth noting that of all the countries re-publishing the offensive cartoons — including Egypt as reported by Egypt’s Sandmonkey — it was only Jordan that imprisoned the journalists that decided to run the caricatures! And you wonder why I’m skeptical about recent calls for a free press in Jordan! Free Momani and Khalidi now!