Jordanian Jailed over Australia Embassy Attack Threat

A Jordanian man was jailed for a year on Wednesday for threatening on Facebook to blow up the Australian embassy in Amman and to kill tourists from the country.

Ali al-Hasanat, 37, had denied any wrongdoing in a November 3 hearing at the state security court that could have been imprisoned him for up to 15 years.

Sources close to the case said he is married to an Australian and had made the threats after an argument with her.

He was accused of using the Internet "to carry out activity that could expose Jordan to acts of aggression".

The charge sheet said that in January Hasanat sent a message on his Facebook page to the embassy in Amman "threatening to blow it up".

A "picture of a bullet" was said to have been attached to the message.

Australia and Jordan are both members of the U.S.-led international coalition fighting jihadists of the Islamic State group.

Amman has intensified surveillance of jihadist sympathizers, monitoring social networks and sermons preached in the kingdom's mosques.

It recently jailed a number of people for having joined IS or spreading propaganda in its favor.