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Amman (dpa) - The editor of a Jordanian weekly was detained on Saturday, two days after he was sacked for reprinting controversial Danish cartoons of Islam's Prophet Mohammed.
A prosecutor ordered the detention of Jihad Momani for 14 days pending questioning.
Momani was detained under a clause in the penal code dealing with "tarnishing religions" - an offence which carries a penalty of between three months and three years in prison.
The authorities are also contemplating legal action against the editor of another weekly al-Mehwar, which also published the provocative cartoons.
The Jordan Press Association's board held an emergency session on Saturday to decide on action against al-Mehwar's editor, Hashem Khaledi, said association's head Tareq Momani.
The Board has already referred Jihad Momani to a disciplinary council for preaching the Union's ethical code.
The appearance of Prophet Mohammed's image in a Jordanian newspaper has sent shock waves throughout the country.
King Abdullah II, on a week-long visit to the US, rushed to denounce the act as preposterous, while the government also lashed out at Momani, a former senator.
Shihan's publisher, a Christian businessman, fired Momani directly afterwards and vowed to pursue legal action against him.
The Arab Printers Company, which publishes Shihan, pulled the edition from news stands and printed a second edition with an apology to its readers.
With a distribution of around 5,000 copies, the two-decades-old Shihan is one of nearly 20 weekly tabloids.
The detained former editor sought to explain that by reprinting the cartoons, he meant to add his voice to the denunciation of the Danish paper which first printed the photos.
But his explanation failed on deaf ears and thousands of angry worshippers took to the streets after Friday prayers in protest.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
