Frenchman jailed for Jordan slurs

Insulting the king is punishable by up to three years in prison

A Jordanian court has sentenced a French national of Palestinian origin to three months in jail for slandering King Abdullah.

The court was told Muntaser Shehab became abusive after a row at a five-star hotel in the capital, Amman.

Police said he continued to insult Jordan and its king after he was detained. Mr Shehab pleaded guilty.

He was originally sentenced to a year in jail, but the sentence was reduced because he was a foreign national.

The prosecutor's charge sheet identified the defendant as a French citizen who worked as a mathematics lecturer at a French university and was visiting Jordan.

French diplomats said they were closely monitoring the case.