The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today accused the Jordanian government of stifling calls for democratic change after the country's intelligence service disabled a news website and removed a letter to the King demanding political reforms.

The IFJ backed protests by journalists' leaders and others who joined a protest after the country's biggest news website http://www.ammonnews.net/  was hacked into and a report over the letter was taken down. Leaders of the IFJ affiliate, the Jordanian Press Association(JPA), joined the demonstration which was held outside the union offices in central Amman.

"This is a sinister development that shows how vulnerable free speech on the internet has become to spooks and censors from inside government," said Aidan White IFJ General Secretary. "We support the rights of journalists across all sectors of the media to publish freely. This incident is shocking evidence of political interference in the democratic process."

The IFJ says that it will support the Jordan Press Association and its members who demand that journalists are allowed to work without restraint, particularly when voices calling for political change are being heard across the Arab world and in Jordan itself.

"This is a momentous time when the people have a right to know and a right to participate in debates about the future," said White. "It is not for government and their security people to try to censor legitimate comment."

For more information, please contact IFJ on + 32 2 235 22 07

The IFJ represents more than 600.000 members in 125 countries