(REUTERS) – A gunman shot dead Jordanian Christian writer Nahed Hattar on Sunday as he was about to go to court to stand trial on charges of contempt of religion after sharing on social media a caricature that was seen as insulting God and Islam.

Nahed Hattar, a prominent activist who was a supporter of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, was arrested after he shared a caricature that depicted a bearded man in heaven smoking in bed with women, asking God to bring him wine and cashews.

Many conservative Muslim Jordanians considered it offensive and against their religion. The authorities said he violated the law by widely sharing the caricature.