Amnesty International Report 1998 - Jordan

(This report covers the period January-December 1997)

Five prisoners of conscience arrested in previous years continued to be held. About 350 people, including prisoners of conscience, were detained for political reasons during the year. Approximately 50 people were sentenced following trials before the State Security Court, some of which failed to meet international fair trial standards. There were reports of torture or ill-treatment of detainees arrested for common law offences, particularly during incommunicado detention. At least 11 people were executed and 21 others were sentenced to death.

‘Abd al-Salam al-Majali became Prime Minister in March following the resignation of ‘Abd al-Karim Kabariti. Elections, held in November, were boycotted by the Islamic Action Front, the main opposition party, in protest at what it said was the erosion of parliamentary authority. Seven other parties also boycotted the elections. Supporters of the government won a majority of seats in the new parliament. No woman was elected.

In May amendments to the Press and Publications Law were introduced shortly after a speech by King Hussein bin Talal in which he severely criticized the Jordanian press and accused newspapers of basing stories on false information. The new law limited even further the freedom of the press, forbidding publication of anything "which includes false information or rumours which relate to the general interest, or government institutions or its workers". Weekly newspapers had to increase their capital to 300,000 dinars (approximately us$420,000) or cease publication. The police reacted strongly to protest demonstrations by journalists, reportedly beating and kicking protesters and hitting them with batons. In September the government suspended 13 newspapers because they were unable to raise the required capital within the three months laid down by law; other newspapers, including the satirical journal ‘Abed Rabbo, ceased publication because they feared the effect of heavy fines.

Prisoners of conscience arrested in previous years who remained in detention included ‘Ata' Abu'l-Rushta, spokesperson for the Hizb al-Tahrir fi'l-'Urdun (lpj), Liberation Party in Jordan – a party seeking to re-establish the Islamic Caliphate – who was serving a six-month sentence for membership of an unlicensed organization after having completed a three-year sentence for an interview published in 1995 in the journal al-Hiwar (see Amnesty International Report 1997). ‘Abdallah Bani ‘Issa, editor of al- Hiwar, was sentenced in January to six months in prison for publishing the interview. However, he was not detained pending appeal, and the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in April. Four members of the lpj sentenced in previous years for distributing leaflets remained in prison as prisoners of conscience (see Amnesty International Report 1995).

About 350 people, including prisoners of conscience, were detained for political reasons during the year. Many were members of Islamist or other radical groups opposed to the peace treaty with Israel. Other prisoners of conscience were detained for articles or lectures critical of the government. Most were released without charge or trial. They included Ramadan Hassan Jilad, a teacher of religious sciences in the Jerash Mosque who was arrested in May and detained for three weeks. Twelve students from Amman University were also arrested in May for taking down a portrait of King Hussein from a room where they were holding a meeting. They were held for up to eight days before being released without charge.

Ibrahim Ghoshe, a spokesperson for the Islamist group Hamas, was arrested in September after suicide bombings in Jerusalem (see Israel and the Occupied Territories entry). He was held for 14 days without access to his family and lawyers before being released without charge.

A number of prisoners were released in January and February in the second batch of releases under the royal amnesty granted in November 1996 (see Amnesty International Report 1997); however, none was being held for political offences. A total of 20 Jordanians held in Israeli prisons were released in October in exchange for Jordan's release of Israeli intelligence agents involved in the attempted killing of Khaled Mesh‘al, a leader of Hamas living in Amman

Approximately 60 political prisoners sentenced, often following unfair trials, for violent activities in previous years also remained in prison. Some 50 people, about 20 of whom had been arrested in previous years, were tried for political offences before State Security Courts which were invariably composed of military judges; some trials failed to meet international fair trial standards. Some of those sentenced by the courts for political offences were prisoners of conscience. For example, Jubra'il Hassan was sentenced to 13 months' imprisonment in October for membership of the lpj and for distributing illegal pamphlets. Others brought before the State Security Court included ‘Ikrimeh Mahmud, Yusef Ahmad and ‘Ali Muhammad Mustafa. They were convicted of plotting acts of "terrorism" and possession of illegal land-mines; they pleaded guilty to the latter charge only. They were sentenced to death in February; the sentence was immediately commuted to life imprisonment

A Jordanian soldier, Ahmad al-Daqamsa, who killed seven Israeli schoolgirls and wounded five others by automatic gunfire in al-Baqura Island in March, was found guilty of unpremeditated murder and sentenced by a military court in July to life imprisonment with hard labour.

In March the Court of Cassation ratified the State Security Court verdicts in the Bay'at al-Imam (Allegiance to the Imam) case, involving 10 members of an Islamist group sentenced to up to life imprisonment on charges including manufacturing explosives, and in the case of Salem Bakhit and Ahmad Khaled, sentenced to life and 10 years' imprisonment for attacking a French diplomat (see Amnesty International Reports 1996 and 1997).

There were reports of torture and ill-treatment of common law detainees at the hands of the Criminal Investigation, Preventive Security and Metropolitan Police. For example, in July five men involved in a razor attack were allegedly beaten with cables and hoses by members of the Criminal Investigation in Jebel Hussein Police Station in Amman; two were beaten while suspended in contorted positions. They were released on bail after eight months in detention without trial.

Samer Khazer died after being beaten by members of the Criminal Investigation at his home in Zabda al-Wasatiya in June. The police stated that he had resisted arrest but statements by the family and villagers suggested that no serious attempt was made to arrest him. No independent inquiry was held into his death.

Muntasser Rajab Abu Zayd, who was allegedly tortured and ill-treated in order to extract a confession which reportedly formed the basis of his conviction for murder (see Amnesty International Report 1997), was executed in June. No investigation had been initiated into the allegations of torture or ill-treatment.

At least 10 other people were executed. Among the women executed were Amira Salem and ‘Aidah Hussein, who were hanged at Swaqa Prison in June. They had been convicted of killing the husband of Amira Salem who was said to have regularly abused her. Those sentenced to death were reportedly not informed of their execution until about 15 minutes before it took place. A total of 21 people were sentenced to death for murder during the year. They included eight people from Amir al-Iraq convicted by the Criminal Court of killing two members of another family in a quarrel. One death sentence was overturned by the Court of Cassation.

In correspondence with the government Amnesty International responded in detail to criticisms by the authorities of the Amnesty International Report 1997 received in December 1997. The organization continued to raise concerns about the use of the death penalty and urged the government not to forcibly return asylum-seekers to Libya or Iraq.