Verbatim | The Case Of The Flying Stapler

“I was sitting in the House speaker’s office waiting to meet him, when Atiyyeh came in and started to call me names, then [he] threw an ashtray and a stapler at me.”Nidal Faraaneh, Rum Online journalist after supposedly being attacked by Jordanian Member of Parliament, Khalil Atiyyeh, in the House Speaker’s office. [source]

Apparently, Atiyyeh claims that Faraaneh was writing “unethical” stories about him. Faraaneh was hospitalized with a hairline fracture to his skull, while MP Atiyyeh was also hospitalized for having a “rapid heartbeat”. According to Faraaneh, as reported by Ammon, Atiyyeh entered the office and stated: “Why are you writing about me? [And] If you mention me again I’ll put my foot up your…”. He then threw a stapler at him and allegedly said “Let the state help you now…”

Ironically, Atiyyeh is filing a complaint against the journalist. Meanwhile, Rum has a pretty strongly-worded “editorial”.

It’s been a while since a journalist was attacked by an MP in Jordan. Reminds me of the good ol’days. Or the bad. I don’t know. I can hardly tell the difference anymore.

In any case, I think MP Atiyyeh is about to discover that the pen is mightier than…the stapler.

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