Gay people in Jordan were terrified this week the country would take steps to make homosexuality illegal.

What was intended to be a quiet statement, one of the only gay magazines in the Middle East MyKali held an event for International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia last month.

Held in the capital Amman, activists held peaceful talks, discussions and debates attended by people who believe in and wanted to learn more about equality.

But this week, a huge backlash began when Arabic media claimed US ambassador to Jordan Alice Wells had been in attendance.

Propaganda reports suggested that Wells, who was appointed in 2014 and has since been repeatedly attacked in the media, had organized the event in an attempt to force LGBTI equality in Jordan.

While homosexuality is legal in Jordan, but there are no anti-discrimination laws and the community is largely underground.

But while she attended and gave a speech, Wells had very little else to do with the event.

On Thursday (4 June), Jordanian lawyer Tariq Abu al-Ragheb filed a lawsuit against Wells claiming her attendance was ‘a breach of public order and the constitution, by setting up a meeting to demand the rights of gays and homosexuals in the presence of US Ambassador to Jordan.’

The event was discussed widely in the media, splashed on many on the front pages and talked about on TV and radio. It was even discussed in parliament.

GSN sources tell us there were calls for the police to deal with the ‘gay problem’. Many complainants didn’t seem to realise that Jordan, unlike much of the Middle East, does not criminalize homosexuality. Others were surprised there was a LGBTI community at all.

The backlash became so fierce that gay activists were concerned that politicians would recriminalize homosexuality – at a minimum.

MyKali, which was at the centre of the media storm, refused to speak to the press after many reported on the event inaccurately.

‘Contrary to news reports, the US ambassador and the US embassy did not sponsor the event,’ they said in a statement.

‘Members of several EU embassies, including the US embassy, unofficially attended the event as a show of support for LGBTQIA rights.’

But it was good timing when Jordanian Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who was named UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued his first report to tackle LGBTI rights since he took on the role.

The case against Wells was dismissed as she has diplomatic protection. But while it seems to have subsided for now, the debate lingers over the fate of Jordan’s LGBTI community.