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