Jordan intelligence chief spearheaded move to arrest US journalist Ali Younes

Jordan intelligence chief spearheaded move to arrest US journalist Ali Younes Submitted by Elis Gjevori on Mon, 08/31/2026 - 14:58 Jordan faces calls to lose billions in US funding unless it releases American journalist its holding for allegedly reposting an article Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin meets with General Ahmad Husni, Director of the General Intelligence Directorate of Jordan, at Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Washington 15 April (DHS photo by Mikaela McGee) Off Major General Ahmad Husni, the director of Jordan’s General Intelligence Department, spearheaded the arrest of prominent American-Jordanian investigative journalist Ali Younes, Middle East Eye has learned. A source close to the investigation said that the intelligence official had signed off on the move to arrest Younes, who has worked for Al Jazeera and Dropsite, amongst others. Seperately, Ammon News, a media outlet reportedly close to Jordan’s intelligence services, published an article on Younes’s arrest last week that revealed further details about the state’s campaign against him. The article linked his arrest to his alleged “attacks on the Jordanian Armed Forces” and efforts to “disseminate misleading information originating from a Jewish source (Aaron Magid)”. Jordanian intelligence officers detained Younes on 17 August after he arrived at Queen Alia International Airport. They questioned him before ordering him to appear before prosecutors in Amman. The charges levelled against Younes are highly unusual. Security officials have centred their case on his alleged reposting of an article by Aaron Magid, published in The American Conservative, questioning US aid to Jordan. Jordan has received $33.8bn in American assistance over the past 75 years and is set to receive billions more under continuing agreements with Washington. 'It is imperative that the State Department ensure his safe return to the United States and press Jordan to rescind the exit ban against him' - Aaron Magid, Middle East analyst “Magid used Younes as a tool to undermine national security and Jordan's positive stances on Arab and Islamic issues,” the Ammon News article said. Younes is correspondent for the US-based investigative outlet Drop Site News who previously worked for Al Jazeera and has contributed to The New York Times, Fox News, CNN and the BBC. The media campaign against Younes in Jordan has also raised fears for his safety amid online death threats and intimidation. In 2016, a gunman killed Jordanian journalist Nahed Hattar after he reposted a cartoon. Younes’s legal defence team in the US, led by attorney Abed Ayoub, told MEE that their client had never attacked the Jordanian armed forces. Ayoub said Jordan’s arrest of Younes “raises serious questions and concerns about the freedom of press in Jordan”. In an earlier statement, Ayoub called the charges “troubling as it is outrageous”, adding that “Younes has always respected the local laws of the countries he reported from including Jordan.” Following Younes’s arrest, Ayoub said his detention should not be “reflective of the direction His Majesty King Abdullah II has taken in Jordan’s longstanding relationship with the United States.” The Jordanian king is “highly respected by many in the US”, Ayoub noted, while the arrest of a journalist over a social media post published outside Jordan “is completely out of character with that relationship”. 'Let our man go or lose your funding' Younes’s arrest and possible imprisonment could also put Jordan on a collision course with the US. The White House under President Donald Trump has moved to strengthen protections for US nationals from “wrongful detention abroad by authorizing robust responses against foreign governments engaging in such practices”. When MEE contacted Magid for comment on Younes’s arrest, he said it was “deeply disturbing that Jordanian security officials detained Ali Younes, a veteran journalist, for allegedly sharing on X a US media article while living in the United States. 'If Jordan wants its funding, it should drop all charges against Younes and release him immediately' - Jason Jones, conservative Republican figure “It is imperative that the State Department ensure his safe return to the United States and press Jordan to rescind the exit ban against him,” Magid said, adding that “Such a crackdown against Younes contradicts King Abdullah's own promises to protect press freedoms. “It is also unfortunate that not a single member of Congress or Trump administration official has publicly raised Younes' case,” Magid said, adding that if Younes is really being charged for simply sharing an article, “then it may be time to examine whether Washington should continue providing billions in aid to the Hashemite Kingdom.” Jason Jones, a conservative Republican figure active in Trump’s orbit and the founder and president of the Vulnerable People Project, told MEE that “The US must tell Jordan: let our man go or lose your funding." Jordan is “risking its international standing and billions of dollars in US funding in a grave international incident: the arrest and draconian prosecution of an American citizen,” Jones said. “At a time when Jordan is so desperate to cling to power and money, it’s surprising its government is letting Husni – a man already being eyed for accusations of corruption – send his forces after dual American-Jordanian reporter Ali Younes,” Jones added. “In fact, Jordan has now put its neck on the line for its own out-of-control official, and it’s time for the US to send a message: If Jordan wants its funding, it should drop all charges against Younes and release him immediately. And it should learn the lesson well and apply it in the future.” MEE contacted the US Embassy in Amman about Younes’s case. An embassy spokesperson said: “We are aware of the case but unfortunately, we can’t share any information.” MEE also contacted the US State Department, but it had not responded by the time of publication. Inside Jordan News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0