Coverage of news of crimes and investigative cases still poses a clear challenge to Jordanian media. Over the past few months, AKEED has seen examples of professional violations in this coverage. The media coverage of the murder of pediatrician Mohammad Abu Risheh follows the same pattern. It offers an example of media coverage of controversial investigative cases. Professionally, media outlets are supposed to provide a news service to the public without influencing society and the parties to the case, as well as investigative agencies, witnesses, and the course of the investigation.

Conflicting news pertaining to the case started to surface in the media on a large scale. It involves the murder of pediatrician Mohammad Abu Risheh on 10 May 2015. Media outlets reported conflicting and contradictory stories about its motive. Al Sabeel daily said that "the reason for the murder was a previous quarrel over patients waiting for their turn at the doctor"s clinic." As for the site Ilanews, it said that "the accused takes drugs." Meanwhile, Garaa News published a different story, in which it attributed the murder to "the refusal of the doctor to give the accused a medical report." The site Khaberni came up with a completely different story, which stated that "there was no professional background" to the murder and that the reason had nothing to do with the profession of the victim. It indicated that "the reason for the murder had to do with personal differences between the slain doctor and the accused, according to investigations."

The Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) followed this case, which has generated broad reactions on social media. AKEED is of the opinion that this coverage did not observe professional and ethical standards in handling cases under investigation. It also contributed to providing information that confused public opinion, which largely interacted with the case.

Media and Society Pass Verdict in the Case:

The media and some influential parties in the state assumed the role of judge by passing a verdict before the end of the investigation and before it reached court. This is a violation of the following principles: Not influencing due process and the secrecy of investigations; that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty; and that the accused has the right to a fair trial.

The following are examples of these trials:

Some newspapers and media outlets reported on statements attributed to Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh upon receiving a delegation representing the family of the victim. He said that "the Lower House of Parliament sides with the just case of the doctor and the demands of the delegation, particularly speeding up the death penalty against the murderer and his accomplices."

Some media outlets leveled numerous charges against the person who carried out the murder, including that he was a drug dealer and had a prior criminal record. Most media outlets treated the case as being motivated by the profession of the victim, while the investigations have so far not announced the real motive of the murder.

AKEED recalls that publishing about these cases has specific rules. The law prohibits publishing any information about cases in the phase of preliminary investigation. Article 39 of the Press and Publications Law states the following:

A. The press shall not publish investigation minutes related to any case before referring it to the competent court unless the public prosecution allows this.

B. The press shall be entitled to publish minutes of court sessions and cover them unless the court decides otherwise to preserve the rights of the individual, family, public order, or public morals.

Emanating from the ethical responsibility of the media, publishing should have maintained the secrecy of the investigation, protected family ties, and observed the rights of the victims and accused parties, which remain innocent until proven guilty. Also, no news may be published if it affects witnesses and the course of the investigation and provides documents and information that benefit the accused parties.

In such cases, media outlets must adhere to legal and professional standards of coverage of crimes and investigative cases. These are as follows:

- The investigation must be secret in the first place.

- There should be no exaggeration and reliance on the personal conclusions of journalists since the case is legal, and not analytical.

- The media must not undermine public order and must not negatively influence future generations and the safety of society by way of intense exaggeration. This is in light of the impact of the case on public opinion as it leads to instability and causes panic among the members of the public.

- The role of the media must not be to transfer the case from one that is examined by courts to a trial that is conducted by public opinion.