American Arab journalist faces imprisonment in Jordan for allegedly sharing Twitter post critical of the Arab country
An American Arab journalist, Ali Younes, has been charged for retweeting a post critical of the Jordanian government. He has been detained in Jordan and faces an upcoming court hearing. In an interview, Younes said he retweeted the tweet while he was in the United States, but did not comment on it. Younes is represented by prestigious attorney Abed Ayoub, the former President of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and his cause has been elevated by the Committee to Protect Journalists and DropSite News Online, where he writes.
By Ray Hanania
American Arab journalist Ali Younes has been charged with “hate crimes” and “undermining Jordan’s national security,” and is being prohibited from leaving the country pending a Sept. 3 court hearing.
Younes, a journalist who worked with CNN, the New York Times, and several Arab World publications, was arrested last week and brought before a Jordanian Magistrate on Monday, August 24, 2026, where he pleaded not guilty.
Ordered to remain in the country pending the upcoming court hearing, Younes said he was questioned by Jordanian Security officials about a post on X (Twitter) that he was accused of retweeting while he was in America, which was critical of Jordan’s government.
Younes and his lawyer, former ADC President Abed Ayoub, were informed that he has been accused of allegedly retweeting an article from the American Conservative @amconmag that included a call to “cut U.S. funding to Jordan,” which authorities stated is a crime of “undermining the national security of Jordan.” He is also being charged with a “hate crime” and with “sedition.”
The @amconmag describes itself as, “The right’s preeminent news source. Founded on foreign policy restraint, trade realism, and migration sanity by Pat Buchanan,” and based in Washington, D.C. Their online website is TheAmericanConservative.com.
Younes, who faces one year in jail over the charges, denied the accusation, saying he never retweeted the post and had nothing to do with the account in question, and insisted he is innocent and also supportive of Jordan and its people.
“I’m a journalist. I try to report news accurately and objectively, and I’m not against the country. I respect the laws of the country. I committed no crime, period,” Younes said. “I deny what they alleged against me.”
Younes was with his wife and two children visiting with his mother who lives in Amman. He was looking into Jordan’s stand on the U.S./Israel war on Iran, noting many Jordanians oppose the war in Iran.
Currently, Younes is prohibited from leaving Jordan pending the hearing and he said he has his passport, but he called the charges “intimidation.”
Ayoub posted a statement on Wednesday declaring Younes has been “wrongfully detained and is currently prevented from leaving the country of Jordan,” facing criminal charges that “could result in his imprisonment.”
“The basis of the case against Mr. Younes is as troubling as it is outrageous. Jordanian authorities have accused him of undermining Jordanian national security because he allegedly retweeted an article written by another American journalist. Mr. Younes was in the United States when he allegedly retweeted the article,” Ayoub wrote, urging Jordanian and American officials to intervene to dismiss the charges.
“The charges against Mr. Younes are made-up charges and are intended as a means of intimidation by the Jordan intelligence department, the General Intelligence Directorate (GID), which is using the Jordanian legal system as an instrument of oppression and crass intimidation of journalists.”
Ayoub said the case is more than just a dispute over a critical Twitter post.
“This case is bigger than a single alleged retweet. It speaks to the growing use of criminal and national-security laws to intimidate journalists and silence voices willing to report, question, and speak openly. Allowing this prosecution to proceed would send a dangerous message to journalists everywhere, including American journalists traveling and working abroad,” Ayoub said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists also issued a statement of alarm over the Jordanian security services’ charges against Younes, an American citizen, writing, “CPJ is alarmed by reports that U.S.-Jordanian journalist Ali Younes is facing trial and a travel ban in Jordan under the cybercrime law, which has frequently been used to target journalists and publishers. If convicted, Younes could face up to three years in prison. We call on Jordanian authorities to drop the charges against Younes and immediately lift the travel ban imposed on him.”
Officials at the Jordanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment.
Younes currently lives in South Carolina and visits his mother in Amman, Jordan twice each year.
He was previously based in Chicago, where he wrote for many national and local newspapers.
Click here for Ali Younes’ Twitter account.
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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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