Killer of Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar sentenced to death

A Jordanian court has sentenced to death an man accused of killing an outspoken secular writer outside an Amman court in September over a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam.

Nahed Hattar was shot three times in the head at close range on the steps of the courthouse where he had been on trial for insulting Islam, after he shared a cartoon on social media that mocked the Islamic State group.

Hattar was a controversial figure and angered many Jordanians with his vocal support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and extreme secular views.

His 49-year-old killer, Riyad Ismail, a Jordanian imam who had recently returned from performing the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, is said to have fought with opposition groups in Syria.

He was arrested at the scene and charged with premeditated murder, terrorism and possession of an illegal firearm.

On Tuesday, Ismail appeared before the military court, bearded, handcuffed and wearing a brown prison uniform to hear the judge at the state security court sentence him to "death by hanging".

Judge Ziad al-Edwan said he was sentenced "for having carried out deadly terrorist act, incitement, premeditated murder and illegal possession of a firearm".

Ismail responded by saying: "Allah suffices me because he is the best disposer of affairs" - a traditional Muslim phrase used by people who feel they have been wronged and consider that only God's judgement counts.

The court also sentenced the man who sold Ismail the gun and the man who introduced him to the weapon merchant to one year in jail each.

In mid-August, 56-year-old Hattar turned himself in to the authorities after an arrest warrant was issued against him over a cartoon he posted on Facebook under the title "God of Daesh" (the Islamic State group).

He was charged with inciting sectarian strife and insulting Islam before he was released on bail in early September. 

The cartoon showed a bearded man in bed smoking with two women lying on either side, and addressing God as a servant.

He explained on Facebook that the cartoon made fun of "terrorists and how they imagine God and heaven, and does not insult God in any way".

His murder, which King Abdullah II branded a "heinous crime", sparked protests in Jordan, with demonstrators calling on the government to resign.

Agencies contributed to this report.