Jordan king pardons ‘souvenir bomb’ photographer

JORDAN’S King Abdullah II yesterday issued a decree pardoning a Japanese photographer who was sentenced to 18 months in jail for the explosion of an Iraqi war memento that killed an airport security guard, a court official said.

“The king issued a special royal decree to pardon the photographer, Hiroki Gomi, after a recommendation made by the government,” a court official said.

A spokesman for Mr Gomi’s employer, Mainichi Shimbun, said the newspaper was now hoping for Mr Gomi’s quick release and return to Tokyo.