When 43 y/o Mohammad Faraj from the pan-Arab media outlet Al Mayadeen made a family trip for the holidays to visit his family on December 12 in Jordan with his Lebanese wife Rania Abi Jema, he was arrested more than a week ago upon arriving at Amman’s airport from Beirut without any publicly stated legal grounds.
His wife is also a journalist employed by Al Mayadeen TV and is being held at the General Intelligence Department without legal representation or to establish the reason for his detention and was unable to see him. Faraj was also denied family visits - without legal representation or to establish the reason for his detention, according to the Committee to Protect Journalist.
The detention of Mohammad Faraj is a serious violation of human rights and a direct attack on freedom of the press, which seeks to silence voices committed to the truth and to the struggles of the peoples. The freedom of Mohammad Faraj is an imperative that cannot wait and for this reason, the Network of Intellectuals, Artists, and Social Movements in Defense of Humanity denounces his disappearance.
“Detaining a journalist without disclosing charges, denying access to a lawyer, and preventing family visits raises serious concerns about due process and press freedom in Jordan,” said Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) Regional Director Sara Qudah.
“Jordanian authorities must immediately reveal Mohammad Faraj’s whereabouts, clarify the legal basis for his detention, and allow him access to his family and legal counsel.”
A short list of organizations and media outlets who are demanding Faraj's immediate release:
* Largest global journalists’ union urges Jordan to free pro-Palestine reporters
* The International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD)
* Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
* Arab groups and media advocacy organizations
* The Canary media organization based in Britain (Not to be confused by Canary Mission/USA)
* Al-Mayadeen TV
* Jordanian cultural and media circles
* Jordanian Writers Association
* The Jordanian Communist Party strongly
* Samidoun: The Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
* Free Palestine TV
Jordan’s records during Gaza genocide are disgraceful.
* Jordan became a key logistical supply artery — providing vital supply routes through the so-called “land bridge” improvised after Yemen enforced a blockade on the genocidal state.
* Jordan has also intercepted Iranian drones bound for Israel at the expense of its own population. Drone debris and shrapnel have fallen onto residential areas, injuring Jordanians in their own homes.
* Jordan opened an airbase during the 2006 Israeli war in Lebanon to allow Israeli travelers to leave and come to Israel via Jordan when Ben Gurion airport was closed and all international carriers canceled flights to Israel.
Faraj’s work routinely critiques the policies of the U.S. and the NATO military alliance but he has not written about Jordanian politics for Al-Mayadeen TV since 2024. Faraj, who lived in Lebanon for several years, is primarily an analyst who does not hide his opinion in favor of the "Resistance" in Lebanon and the Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories. Opposing genocide and illegal occupation should not be a crime!
Jordan is notorious for restrictions on freedom of press, and it has used the cybercrime law used to prosecute journalists and ban multiple news sites.
From that moment Mohammad Faraj effectively vanished from public view, his family has received no explanation. Requests for visitation were neither approved nor formally denied. No information was provided regarding his health, conditions of detention, or the legal basis for his arrest. Source Tehran Times, December 30, 2025.
Originally trained as a computer engineer, Mohammad Faraj holds a master’s degree in information technology management, Faraj entered journalism in his late thirties. In 2020, he relocated to Lebanon to dedicate himself fully to media work. At Al Mayadeen, he served as producer, editor, and presenter, authoring hundreds of in-depth articles and producing documentary series such as “Al-Aqsa Flood.” He was unwavering in his support for Palestine, his condemnation of the genocide in Gaza, and his intellectual confrontation with the Israeli — always through analysis rather than incitement.
Readers are urged to contact the Jordanian embassy in Washington D.C. at (202) 966-2664 or email at: outreach@jordanembassyus.org or the next Jordanian diplomatic post in the country where they live to express their concerns about Mohammad Faraj's illegal detention.
If readers have an extra minute, they can contact Queen Rania Al Abdullah. She is advocate of international human rights who was born to Palestinian parents via Twitter at: @queenrania
Mahmoud El-Youseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He writes on U.S. foreign policy, Middle East affairs, and justice. Email: elyousseph6@yahoo.com
