Jordanian Freed after Throwing Shoes at PM

A Jordanian man who threw his shoes at Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur and five cabinet ministers in the northern city of Jerash, was freed Tuesday, his family said.

"The mayor of Jerash today freed Mefleh Mahasneh... Nsur did not press charges," one relative told AFP.

"This morning several tribal leaders in Jerash met with the mayor to push for Mahasneh's release. Also last night, dozens of people from Jerash held a sit-in outside the multiplicity building to demand his release."

On Monday, Nsur was addressing a ceremony about the economy when Mahasneh, 65, who heads the Jerash countryside society, interrupted the prime minister telling him: "You raised the prices."

Mahasneh became angry after the mayor stopped him from talking, and threw his pair of shoes at a stage on which Nsur and his ministers were sitting.

The shoes landed on a table, and Mahasneh was arrested.

In November 2012, Nsur’s government raised fuel prices, including household gas, by up to 53 percent to help reduce a massive government deficit. That sparked a wave of violent nationwide protests and strikes.

Amid growing unemployment and poverty, Jordanians have held street protests to demand sweeping political and economic reforms as well as tougher anti-corruption efforts.