By Sondoss Al Asaad
BEIRUT—As 2025 draws to a close, the continued detention of Jordanian journalist and political writer Mohammad Faraj remains unresolved and deeply troubling.
Held for roughly three weeks without formal charges, a public indictment, or judicial transparency, Faraj’s case raises urgent questions about due process, freedom of expression, and the narrowing space for independent political thought in the Arab world.
Faraj’s disappearance from public life did not follow an act of provocation or a declared offense.
Just weeks before his detention, he had written an analytical article exploring the possibility of China assuming a greater role in Latin America.
Shortly thereafter, he left Beirut to Jordan for what was meant to be a brief family visit. Upon arrival at Queen Alia International Airport, he and his Lebanese wife, journalist Rana Abi Jumaa, were subjected to unusually prolonged questioning before being transferred to Jordanian intelligence for interrogation.
From that moment on, Mohammad Faraj effectively vanished from public view.
For days, his family received no explanation. Requests for visitation were neither approved nor formally denied. No information was provided regarding his health, conditions of detention, or the legal basis for his arrest.
Initially, Abi Jumaa refrained from publicizing the case, prioritizing her husband’s safety over media attention.
Al Mayadeen, in coordination with the family, also exercised restraint. But as silence stretched into weeks—without charges, statements, or legal clarity—the absence of accountability itself became untenable. The detention was finally made public.
To describe Faraj merely as a journalist is to understate his intellectual trajectory. A political writer and researcher by vocation, he approaches journalism as a long-term project of critical inquiry rather than episodic commentary.
Originally trained as a computer engineer, holding a master’s degree in information technology management, Faraj entered journalism in his late thirties, driven by the conviction that intellectual life need not be confined to a single discipline.
His analytical depth—shaped by years of political activism since his university days—became a defining hallmark of his work.
In Jordan, Faraj headed the Alternative Culture Association, participated actively in the Jordanian Writers Association, and engaged with the Arab National Congress.
In 2020, he relocated to Lebanon to dedicate himself fully to media work. At Al Mayadeen, he served as producer, editor, and presenter, authoring hundreds of in-depth articles and producing documentary series such as “Al-Aqsa Flood,” which situated current events within broader historical and structural contexts.
Faraj’s writings consistently challenged Western hegemony, critiqued global capitalism, and examined what he identified as the gradual decline of U.S. dominance alongside a global shift toward the East.
He was unwavering in his support for Palestine, his condemnation of the genocide in Gaza, and his intellectual confrontation with the Israeli enemy—always through analysis rather than incitement, and through reason rather than spectacle.
Faraj’s detention without charge cannot be dismissed as a routine security measure.
It reflects a deeper unease with the kind of journalism Faraj embodies: principled, historically grounded, and openly aligned with the causes of Arab liberation.
When a voice of this kind is silenced, the issue ceases to be about any alleged act and becomes a deeper question: why has this kind of voice itself become unacceptable?
Faraj’s family has the right to know his fate. His colleagues have the right to know the accusation—if one exists. And society has the right to demand accountability when protected expression becomes grounds for detention.
Until answers are provided, the imprisonment of Mohammad Faraj will stand not only as a personal injustice, but as a stark symbol of the fragility of free expression in an increasingly polarized political moment.
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