AMMAN — The
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed concern Friday about the continued detention of peaceful
activists in Jordan since last February, under the crime prevention and cybercrime prevention laws, saying that these
arrests are "part of a deliberate campaign to silence dissent".
اضافة اعلان
UN human rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in a
press statement that “Jordanian authorities have carried out a series of
arrests of activists under the Crime Prevention Law, a broad law that allows
administrative governors to detain anyone ‘considered a danger to society’
without charge and without effective access to legal proceedings.”
Twelve activists are still in detention on charges of
"spreading false news" under Article 15 of the Cybercrime Prevention
Law and "inciting sedition" under Article 150 of the Penal Code, the
statement said.
Some detainees “were arrested simply for planning a protest,
others for protesting the results of local elections, and at least one was
arrested after paying bail for a person detained earlier. Police reportedly
stormed the homes of some activists at night, in some cases accompanied by
counter-terrorism security forces. Usually they are refused bail, and when they
are offered, it is very expensive”.
According to the OHCHR, at least two detainees are on hunger
strike; the office expressed concern about their health condition, and called
on authorities to provide them with appropriate medical care, and respect their
will and dignity.
The OHCHR urged the authorities to release all people detained
for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, to
ensure that individuals can exercise these rights, and to address their
grievances.
It also called on the Jordanian authorities to amend the
Crime Prevention Law in order to bring it in line with the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Jordan is a party.
Member of Parliament Saleh Al-Armouti told
Jordan News that the
OHCHR statement is accurate and called on the government to release prisoners
of conscience, who are under administrative arrest, without legal basis.
“Their arrest offends Jordan,” and those who observe the
rule of law “cannot accept attacks on the judicial authority”.
Armouti added that recent policies have caused Jordan to
drop four places on the human rights index.
The arrest campaigns, he said, “is terrorizing the Jordanian
citizen so that he does not express his opinion”, adding that even in the
martial law era no such arrests were made; “there was respect for the judiciary”.
Armouti said he had asked the ministers of justice and of interior
to be allowed to visit these detainees, and that he had asked the chief public prosecutor
to release them.
Anas, son of detainee Abed Tawahieh, told
Jordan News that
"my father was arrested on February 13, 2022, and he is currently in Bab Al-Hawa
prison in Irbid". Arrested on charges of "spreading rumors and false
news that would undermine the prestige of the state”, he said that his father
was to be under administrative detention for approximately three months.
According to Anas Tawahieh, nine people were recently arrested and some 60
people have been detained on different charges, such as spreading fake news
that could undermine the prestige and position of the state, stirring up
sectarian and civil strife, slandering public bodies, attempting to kill and
resist security men.
Those arrested have been sent to multiple remote prisons “to
complicate matters for the detainees and their families”.
Tawahieh said “we have entered a new period of suppression
of freedoms and this will lead to more hatred, considering that the reasons for
arrest are not convincing”.
His father, he said, “did not offend anyone; his words are
balanced and his fault is that he expresses his opinion, and the result was that
he was arrested”.
National Center for Human Rights Attorney General
Commissioner Alaa Al-Armouti told
Jordan News that the center issued two
statements regarding the detainees, adding that the Crime Prevention Law is not
used correctly, as it “is being applied to the activists or those who think or
protest”.
He added: “It seems that we are facing a new policy, using
harshness and cruelty toward activists, and this is an unprecedented situation”.
He also said that “we, as a center, make frequent visits to check
on the health of the detainees and follow up on their complaints, if any”.
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