Country Reports on Terrorism 2013 - Jordan

Overview: In 2013, Jordan remained a strong ally in combating terrorism and violent extremist ideology. Jordan's geographic location renders it susceptible to a variety of regional threats, while also making it a natural regional leader in confronting them. During 2013, the radicalization of segments within the Syrian opposition further entrenched terrorism as a top concern for Jordanian security services. Jordan continued to provide diplomatic and political support to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, in addition to its support for a political resolution to the Syrian conflict. Jordan also continued to assist Palestinian Authority law enforcement institutions through training at the Jordan International Police Training Center, where both advanced-level and refresher courses were offered to Palestinian security services, in addition to basic-level courses.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: The State Security Court (SSC) is the primary legal apparatus for prosecuting terrorist suspects, although its role continued to be an issue of parliamentary and public debate during 2013. The SSC oversees the prosecution of civilians charged with crimes considered to touch on national security. Civil society organizations have criticized the SSC's jurisdiction as too broad and its procedures as opaque.

In December, the Parliament amended the SSC Law to conform to 2011 Constitutional Amendments. The amendment would restrict the SSC's jurisdiction to try civilians for crimes pertaining only to terrorism, treason, espionage, drugs, and counterfeiting. However, Article 149 of the penal code defines the term "terrorism" in part as "undermining the political system." This language infers that the SSC can prosecute cases of political expression or other acts typically considered outside the realm of terrorism. The bill was still being debated at year's end.

Jordan has advanced capabilities to proactively detect, deter, and prevent acts of terrorism within its territory. Comprehensive training programs, detailed planning, and recurring surveys of key facilities have enabled Jordan to engineer a coordinated national response to crises. The General Intelligence Directorate (GID) has legislative authority to investigate acts of terrorism. The Public Security Directorate (PSD) has authority over non-terrorism-related crimes, but frequently supports GID counterterrorism activities through the PSD Special Branch, the intelligence branch of PSD. The GID also occasionally coordinates with the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) and its intelligence branch, particularly on cases involving border security, which the JAF oversees. The division of authority is clear, and the different agencies communicate and coordinate effectively during emergencies. Prosecutors typically are not consulted until the back end of investigations, when terrorism cases are referred to the SSC.

Jordan remained committed to securing its borders and denying safe haven to terrorists. Jordan continued to develop its border security infrastructure, largely through the Jordan Border Security Program (JBSP), which began in 2009. JBSP consists of a sophisticated package of sensors to help improve situational awareness along the border and prevent infiltrations into Jordan or unauthorized departures. Phase 1B neared completion at the end of 2013.

During 2013, Jordanian authorities took legal action against individuals deemed to be terrorists under local law. The following legal procedures took place in 2013:

• In September, the SSC sentenced five Jordanians to five years in prison for attempting to join al-Nusrah Front. Jordanian border guards originally arrested the men in February 2012 when they were trying to cross the Syrian border carrying AK-47 assault rifles.

• In November, the longtime terrorist Raed Hijazi was detained by Jordanian authorities. Hijazi, a U.S.-Jordanian national, was jailed from 2001 to 2011 for his role in al-Qa'ida's planned Millennium attacks in Jordan. Authorities did not make public the reasons for Hijazi's most recent detention.

• In November, authorities charged 15 university students from Al-Balqa University with carrying out "terrorist acts" following a tribal fight on campus that resulted in five injuries. The students were subsequently released, although it is unclear whether the charges were dropped or changed.

• In December, the public trial began of Abu Qatada, a radical Muslim cleric who was deported from the UK in July 2013. The SSC previously convicted Qatada in absentia for his involvement in conspiring to carry out acts of terrorism in 1998 and another foiled attempt in 2000 against Western and Israeli targets during Millennium celebrations.

• Throughout the year, the State Security Court moved swiftly to detain, and in some cases, charge individuals who illegally entered Syria with the intention of joining the armed opposition. Individuals illegally entering Syria were charged with either the misdemeanor of illegal border entry or a major felony of illegal border crossing with the intent to destabilize regional security.

On October 1, the Government of Jordan signed a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the United States.

Jordan is a key participant in the State Department's Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program. Close to 1,000 Jordanians participated in the ATA program in 2013; key areas of focus included strengthening law enforcement investigative capacity and border security capacity, and institutionalizing counterterrorism law enforcement capacities in Jordan's own training programs.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Jordan is a member of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force, a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body; its financial intelligence unit has been a part of the Egmont Group since 2012. The country's anti-money laundering/counterterrorist finance framework has been significantly strengthened in the last several years. While Jordan's Anti-Money Laundering Law does not oblige non-profit organizations to file suspicious transaction reports, the country has reportedly monitored charitable contributions to ensure they are not being diverted to fund terrorists. For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Jordan is a founding member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, and is also a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Arab League.

Countering Radicalization to Violence and Violent Extremism: Jordan has sought to confront and weaken the violent ideology that underpins al-Qa'ida and other violent extremist organizations. Jordanian prisons have a religiously based de-radicalization program that seeks to re-engage violent extremist inmates into the peaceful mainstream of their faith. Based upon the individual needs of the inmate, this program can include basic literacy classes, employment counseling, and theological instruction.

The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Thought, under the patronage of Prince Ghazi bin Mohammad, promotes religious tolerance and coexistence. Building upon the foundations of the 2005 Amman Message, this institute continued its sponsorship of a series of ecumenical events promoting interfaith dialogue. Jordanian officials, including King Abdullah II, strongly condemned extremist violence and the ideology that promotes it.

Jordan hosted events geared toward rejecting terrorism and sectarianism. In November, Islamist leaders, researchers, academics, and politicians participated in a two-day event titled "Political Islam Movements" which stressed the need to create a democratic atmosphere to achieve political reforms, justice, and development in the Arab world. Prince Ghazi also convened two conferences in Jordan this year highlighting challenges facing Arab Christians and the importance of religious tolerance.