Cairo  October 20, 2012
ANHRI calls the Jordanian authorities for the immediate release of 19 political detainees who have been arrested in the period between July 15 and October 4 this year.

Many of the towns and cities of Jordan have witnessed yesterday, Friday October 19, 2012, mass demonstrations within the framework of the so-called Friday of the “the feast for the movements detainees”, in a reference to demand the release of 19 political activists belonging to the popular movements in more than one city of Jordan. On the same day detained activists were transferred to the hospital to be examined due to  the deterioration of their health as a result of the hunger strike for more than six days. It should be noted that the activists Abdullah Mahadeen and Tariq Jawabra, have started their hunger strike since six days with other four detainees in a protest against the continued detention.

Some sources which include a message leaked by Jawabra from his prison through his wife, that the prison authorities had transferred him to hospital in a humiliating manner, as they handcuffed him from behind and he had to wear a black mask in addition, after the medical examination, he was transferred again to his solitary cell.

Movements (the plueral of move) are a gathers for Jordanian activists had increasing remarkably at the beginning of the last year in pace with  the revolutions of the Arab Spring, which erupted in a number of Arab countries that calls for the political reforms in Jordan. Come at the top of them,  calls to reduce the powers taht almost absolute to the king in the constitution and the granting larger powers to the elected parliament with guarantees for the integrity of the parliamentary elections, in addition to the get rid of the corruption spread in the government bodies. After Tafila movement, a city located in southern of Jordan, the oldest of these movements and it is also the largest in suppression exercised by the Jordanian authorities against it and 8 of its activists in the Jordanian prisons.

Despite the issuance of the legal amendments in October of the last year, which limiting the jurisdiction of the Jordanian State Security in the investigation with the civilians in terrorism and drug crimes, but the Jordanian authorities still use this body, of bad reputation, to follow the activists despite their peaceful activity. Jordan in this period have witnessed from 15 July until the beginning of the month of October a campaign of arrests of the activists. They have arrested many of them and the state security body has investigated them although they were arrested of their participation in peaceful demonstrations. It was used to justify the fake charges against them, which included “inciting sectarian strife “, ” threat to civil peace “and” working to overthrow the regime” in addition to charges of insulting the king or his wife.

ANHRI said that “Jordan should respond to the calls of the People for the immediate release of the political prisoners languishing in the prisons and it has to stop the prosecution of political activists by fabricating charges and mock them because of their involvement in peaceful demonstrations, in violation to the right to demonstrate peacefully.”

ANHRI re-alerted that the severe deterioration in the position of the Jordanian authorities against freedom of opinion and expression in the Kingdom in addition to the successive arrests of activists, and  the issuance of amendments to the law on publications in Jordan imposes unfair restrictions on the freedom of the press, publishing and the Internet. ANHRI called the international community to exert practice more pressure on the Jordanian authorities to ensure its commitment to the international treaties and conventions signed by the Kingdom related to the protection of the freedom of opinion and expression and the freedom of the press and publishing.