Abdulrahman Thaher

Abdulrahman Asad Thaher, (Arabic: عبد الرحمن ظاهر, romanized: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Ẓāhir; born 31 December 1982) is a Palestinian-Jordanian actor, director, satirical screenwriter, journalist and human rights defender.^[5][6][7]

Abdulrahman Thaher
Abdulrahman Thaher in 2014
Born	Abdulrahman Asad Thaher (1982-12-31) 31 December 1982 (age 42) United Arab Emirates
Citizenship	State of Palestine Jordan
Education	Bachelor's degree, An-Najah National University
Occupation(s)	Satirical writer Actor Director Journalist Architect.[1]
Years active	2004–present
Organization	International Federation of Journalists
Television	Fenjan Albalad Sukaj In the Presence of Justice
Spouse	Rasha Thaher (married 2010–present)[2]
Family	Zahir al-Umar
Awards	The 11th Alexandria Festival for Arab Youth Award.[3][4]
Website	thahers.com/en

Life and career

Abdulrahman Thaher was born in 1982 in the United Arab Emirates to a Palestinian family originally from Nablus, located in the northern West Bank of Palestine.^[5]

He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in 2007 at An-Najah National University and completed his studies in directing and acting. He has also written, directed, and performed in Fenjan Albalad, Sukaj, and In the Presence of Justice,^[7] which are known for their black comedy style.

Thaher has been the Production Department Manager at Wattan TV, Director of International Production at the Media Center of An-Najah National University, and Senior Producer at Smalink Media Production Company in Beirut. Thaher has produced television programs for Jordan's Roya TV and Al Araby Television Network in London.^[1]

He has faced prosecution and arrests.^[6][1]

Arrests and trials

Arrests by the Palestinian Authority

In August 2018, Abdulahman Thaher was arrested at the Palestinian border crossings upon his return from Lebanon to Palestine, following an immediate arrest warrant issued against him due to his satirical and critical television programs produced outside of Palestine. He was subsequently released by the Palestinian Public Prosecution due to the absence of a definitive indictment.^[5]

In August 2020, Thaher was detained by the Palestinian Preventive Security during the night as he was leaving An-Najah National University. He was subjected to solitary confinement and intensive interrogation for a period of one and a half months on allegations of defaming the Palestinian Authority through his television work.^[5][8]

Media coverage and calls for release

Numerous Palestinian activists, human rights defenders, and journalists held protests against the Palestinian Authority's arrest of Thaher in August and September 2020. They demonstrated against the poor conditions of his detention and his declining health, gathering outside the court in Nablus and the Palestinian Prime Minister's office in Ramallah.^[9] Thaher's arrest sparked widespread discussion on social media and in Palestinian, Arab, and international media. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and various international human rights groups monitored the situation.^[10] At that time, the Palestinian Authority faced accusations of infringing on freedom of expression and fabricating charges against political activists and journalists. This pressure led to Thaher's conditional release in September 2020, but his trial continued under the Cybercrime Law.^[9][6]

Acquittal

In January 2022, a Nablus court sentenced Thaher to three months in prison for defaming the Palestinian Authority.^[1] The ruling sparked strong reactions from journalists and activists, leading to the intervention of international human rights organizations. They urged the Palestinian Authority to protect Thaher and other journalists, and called for an end to violations against the political opposition. As a result, the sentence was suspended while Thaher's legal team appealed the decision. Ultimately, the Court of Appeal ruled in Thaher's favor, acquitting him of all charges after two years of trials.^[5][11]

Arrest in Israel

In October 2020, just a few weeks after Thaher was released from Palestinian Authority prisons, the IDF arrested him at his home in Nablus. They questioned him about his television work outside of Palestine. A month later, an Israeli court ruled to release him.^[12][13]

Filmography

Director and actor Abdulrahman Thaher )2014)

Thaher has produced and directed TV series and programs characterized by black comedy.^[14] Below is a list of Abdulrahman Thaher's most known works:^[15]

Television

Series

Abdulrahman Thaher during the filming of the TV series "Sukaj" in Jordan (2015)

Year	Title	Genre	Country of production	Role	Channel	Ref.
2013	Fenjan Albalad (S1)	drama, black comedy, and satire	Palestine	Director, screenwriter and actor	Roya TV channel	[16]
2013	In the Presence of Justice	drama, crime, and vagueness	Palestine	Director and writer	Wattan TV	[7]
2014	Fenjan Albalad (S2)	drama, black comedy, and satire	Jordan	Director, writer and Leading actor	Roya TV channel	[17]
2015	Fenjan Albalad (S3)	drama, black comedy, and satire	Jordan	Director, writer and Leading actor	Al Araby TV channel	[18]
2015	Sukaj (S1)	black comedy	Jordan	Director, writer and main actor	Al Araby TV channel
2016	Sukaj (S2)	black comedy	Jordan	Director, writer and Leading actor	Al Araby TV channel	[19]
2020	What's up	comedy	Palestine	Writer and Leading actor	NBC TV

Animated series

Year	Title	Genre	Country	Role	Ref.
2017	Abu Saleh (S1)	farce drama and black comedy	Jordan	Writer, director and Leading actor
2019	Abu Saleh (S2)	farce drama and black comedy	Lebanon	Writer, director and Leading actor

Programs

Year	Title	Genre	Country of production	Role	Channel	Ref.
2012	The other opinion	talk show and politics	Palestine	Producer and director	Wattan TV	[20]
2013	Upside down	entertainment and vox pop	Palestine	Director	Roya TV	[17]
2014	Zinko	talk show, politics, and news satire	Palestine Jordan	Producer, director and presenter	Roya TV	[21][22]
2015	Ghabash (S1)	entertainment, vox pop, and challenges	Jordan	Producer, director and presenter	Al Araby	[23]
2015	Archive	curriculum vitae	Jordan	Producer, director and presenter	Al Araby	[24]
2016	Ghabash (S2)	entertainment, vox pop, and challenges	Jordan	Producer, director and presenter	Roya TV	[25]
2016	Mute	social and political commentary	Palestine	Executive Producer	Roya TV	[26]
2017	Hilal Mawwal	entertainment and talk show	Lebanon	Senior producer	Al Quds	[5]
2018	Yours or the wolf's?	reality show and riddles	Lebanon	Producer, director and presenter	Al Quds	[5]
2019	Ghabash (S3)	entertainment, vox pop, and challenges	Palestine	Producer, director and presenter	Roya TV	[27]
2020	Accordingly	recursive self-improvement	Palestine	Writer and presenter	NBC TV	[28]
2020	Trick (S1)	reality show, riddles, and prizes	Palestine	Producer, director and presenter	Roya TV	[29]
2021	Trick (S2)	reality show, riddles, and prizes	Palestine	Producer, director and presenter	Roya TV

Film

Year	Title	Genre	Role	Ref.
2005	Paradise Now	psychological drama	Actor	[30]
2016	Mute	farce drama	Producer

Plays

Year	Title	Genre	Countries of shows	Role	Director	Ref.
2005	Memory Page	realism	Palestine	ًPlaywright and leading actor	Gufran Odah
2007	Flash Back	black comedy	Palestine Jordan	ًPlaywright and leading actor	Said Sada
2008	There on the Other Shore	psychological drama	Palestine Egypt	Leading actor	Fathi Abdul Rahman	[31][32]

Radio

Year	Title	Genre	Country	Role	Ref.
2013	In court	drama, crime, and vagueness	Palestine	Writer, director, and leading actor

Awards

• 11th Alexandria Festival for Arab Youth Award in 2008, "There on the Other Shore".^[31][32]
• 19th Arab Radio and Television Festival Award in Tunisia in 2018, "Mosh Banamaj".^[33][34]