Jordanian cartoonist comes under fire for mocking UAE

AMMAN, Jordan

Jordanian prosecutors on Thursday referred cartoonist Emad Hajjaj to a court shortly after his detention for a caricature criticizing UAE's deal with Israel to restore diplomatic ties.

Marwan Saleem, his lawyer, said no charges have been filed against him so far.

The Jordanian authorities have yet to comment on the case.

Activists on social media shared the caricature which was published in the UK-based daily Al-Arabi Al-Jadid mocking UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as Israel refused to allow UAE buy F-35 warplanes from the US despite Abu Dhabi's normalization deal with Tel Aviv.

* Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara