Jordan

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3. Jordan GENERAL, POLITICAL AND LEGAL OVERVIEW Jordan is a constitutional monarchy; the King exercises far-reaching powers as the head of state and the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Economically, Jordan has been one of the most stable countries in the region since the beginning of the Arab Spring. Nevertheless, many Jordanians have voiced their discontent with the deteriorating standards of living exacerbated by the violence in Syria.

The huge influx of refugees, limited resources and the complacency of the international community in extending adequate aid to help meet commitments towards Palestinian, Iraqi and Syrian refugees, has presented an added humanitarian and economic burden to Jordan.

Jordan is currently home to more than 600,000 Syrian refugees who have fled Syria in hopes of finding safety.

The refugees have placed a huge strain on Jordan’s meagre resources. 130,000 refugees live in the Zaatari refugee camp in the north of Jordan whilst the remaining 470,000 live in towns and villages across the country, utilising Jordan’s limited health and educational services. The influx of refugees has also led to an increase in prices and,

according to some experts, led to an explosion in the number of beggars and prostitutes.

Since 2011, the influence of political opposition movements known collectively as Hirak, have resulted in several constitutional amendments related to judicial independence and anti-terrorism laws. The new amendments increased the powers of the State Security Court at the expense of civilian political rights and freedoms and gave the King additional powers over the judiciary and army.

The Jordanian Parliament overturned an earlier decision to allow members of the Judicial Council to be directly elected. Instead, it was agreed they would be appointed by a monarchical decree. The Parliament also approved an article that granted the Judicial Council the right to terminate any judge if inspectors deemed his performance to have been less than ‘good’ for two consecutive years, subject to the King’s approval. In addition to this, the Parliament also passed a legislation granting the King the power to appoint and terminate the president of the Court of Cassation. Administrative courts were ordered to establish a twotier administrative system involving the Administrative Court of First Instance and the Supreme Administrative Court.

However, this law was not issued until the second half of 201415.

15 http://www.legal-agenda.com/reportsarticle. php?id=242&folder=reports&lang=ar [The Legal Agenda: Jordanian judiciary during the Arab Uprising 2011-2013 (Arabic source)]

32 In early 2014, Jordan began carrying out legislative reforms in accordance with its obligations as dictated by the United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 23rd October 2013. Despite these reforms, arbitrary arrests have continued with many members of the Salafi, Muslim Brotherhood or other opposition movements being targeted.

The most recent amendments to the constitution granted the King more privileges and powers. On 24th August 2014, the Jordanian Parliament approved two amendments that would grant the King the legal prerogative to appoint the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff (the Army Commander) and the Director of the General Intelligence Department. The Parliament also passed a law exempting the King from paying taxes. The King refused to ratify a law on 15th September granting MPs lifetime pensions, similar to those of ministers.

In the context of legislative reforms related to combatting corruption and the restructuring of government agencies, both the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament voted on 18th March to dissolve the Insurance Commission and merge it with the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The two houses refused to dissolve the Ombudsman Bureau. Most observers view these reforms as lacking real substance.

Despite

this

series

of

failed

reforms, Jordan has maintained a policy of allowing non-governmental organisations to operate freely in Jordan. Human Rights Watch (HRW) announced its intention to open an office in Amman in 2014 after it was granted a license by the Board of Association 16 .

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS The right to freedom, fair trial and treatment •

Arbitrary and administrative detention

The National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) conducted 123 field visits to various detention centres around the Kingdom and concluded there were legal breaches in the length of administrative detention.

According to NCHR, detainees are frequently illegally held for indefinite periods at detention centres, pending investigations 17.

In May 2014, and after years of harassment by intelligence services, Amer Jamil Jabran was detained arbitrarily by Jordanian authorities on account of his political and human rights activism, and most notably for his relation to the Palestinian cause.

The Alkarama organisation appealed 16 http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/06/15/jordanhuman-rights-watch-open-amman-office 17 http://bit.ly/1wuuBJd [Al-Ghad: Council retreat its modification by electing four members to the Judicial Council (Arabic source)]

33 to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on 2nd July to request its help in pressuring the Jordanian Government to release Jabran and respect its international obligations by putting an end to the policy of arbitrary detention. However, Jabran remains detained 18.

Similarly, on 23rd August, security forces arrested the political activist Abdulhadi al-Hawamdah upon his arrival to Amman from the US. The arrest followed a decision made by the State Security Court sentencing him to three months for “opposing the regime”, despite attempts to appeal. Activist Wasfi al-Momani, a friend present at the time of the arrest, reported that it was carried out in a very conspicuous and humiliating manner19.

In the past, such arrests have resulted in extrajudicial killings due to the excessive use of force by security officials. The al-Ba’ij region in Mafraq witnessed a series of riots during which angry locals set the local post office and school on fire to protest the death of a young boy who was killed during a security raid in search of wanted criminals20.

18 http://ar.alkarama.org/jordan/press-releases/ item/4854-2014-08-03-16-04-57 [Alkarama organisation: Jordan – The Arbitrary Detention of human rights activist Amer Jamil Jabran (Arabic source)] 19 http://deeretnanews.com/ index.php?option=com_ content&task=view&id=2135096&Itemid=422 [Deeretna news: The arrest of political activist Abdulhadi al-Hawamdah in Queen Alia airport (Arabic source)] 20 http://bit.ly/1wbvMel [Al-Ghad: Riots in al-Ba’ij

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Absence of fair trial

In August 2014, Jordanian authorities arrested a number of members of the Salafi Jihadi group who are in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). They remain detained without charge. Intelligence services in Zarqa arrested 22 prominent Salafis known for their support of ISIL, including Ayman Abu Al-Rub, Mu’tazz Khalaileh, Abu Omar Al-Gharaibeh and Sha’er Al-Zuuhairi, also known as the al-Qaeda poet21. On 2nd October, security forces arrested a prominent leader and two members of the Salafi Jihadi group following raids in al-Baqa’ refugee Camp in Balqa22. According to the detainees’ lawyer Moussa alAbdallat, those detained were Jameel Rayyan, Shadi al-Arayysa and Majdi Azzam. Al-Abdallat added that more than 95 Salafi Jihadi members have been arrested since the beginning of the international war on ISIL. Members of The Muslim Brotherhood have also been targeted

by Jordanian arrest campaigns. On 16th September, Jordanian authorities arrested a Brotherhood member Adil Awwad. Less than 24 hours later, a Brotherhood leader and Imam, Mohammed Saeed Bakr, was arrested.

According to his lawyer, Hikmat alfollowing a death during a raid (Arabic source)] 21 http://www.aawsat.net/2014/08/ article55335911/jordanian-authorities-arrestisis-nusra-front-suspects 22 http://bit.ly/1zMERcP [Al-Ghad: Al-Baqa – arrest of Jihadi Salafi leader and two members (Arabic source)]

34 Rawashdeh, Bakr was picked up by the police in Jabal al-Nasr and taken to the State Security Court for questioning before being transferred to al-Jwaidah Prison. Awwad was charged with inciting hatred and attempting to destabilise the regime during one of his Friday sermons. Sources close to the Muslim Brotherhood revealed Awwad had previously been charged with “insulting the army and the regime� during a Friday sermon in Jabal al-Nasr in eastern Amman. Mohammed Saeed Bakr was arrested over political speeches he delivered during an event organised by the Muslim Brotherhood in support of Gaza during the most recent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip23.

Jordanian authorities released antiISIL Salafi leader Abu Mohammed alMaqdesi after he served four years on allegations of supporting the Taliban.

Al-Maqdesi has spent a total of 14 years in prison during the last two decades on various terrorism-related charges.

He was held for five years in a Jordanian intelligence services prison without trial, despite having been cleared of all charges by the State Security Court24.

On 23rd September this year, AbuQatada, a Salafi preacher extradited from Britain, was cleared of all terror charges after the court declared there was insufficient evidence to convict 23 http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/ politics/2014/09/jordan-reforms-brotherhood. html# 24 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/ middleeast/2014/06/jordan-releases-anti-isilsalafi-leader-2014617121457552506.html

him25. The release of Abu-Qatada and al-Maqdesi led to questions about whether their release was politically motivated in view of the current events in the region. •

Treatment

Islamist detainees face harsh conditions in Jordanian detention centres, often prevented from receiving any visitors. Recently, this prompted more than 40 detainees to embark on an open-ended hunger strike to protest such bad conditions.

Scores of Jihadi detainees are currently being held at Jordanian prisons on various charges, including joining the fight against Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

The right to racial equality Since January 2013, Jordan has refused entry to Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria. As a consequence they have faced several international criticisms as this stands as a clear violation of international commitments.

However, the discrimination continues.

More than 100 Palestinian-Syrian refugees that succeeded in entering Jordan in mid-2012 were deported, including women and children. HRW published a report about the incident and urged Jordan to reconsider its decision. HRW added that international donors and agencies must join efforts 25 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/ sep/24/abu-qatada-cleared-terror-chargesjordan-court

35 to ensure Palestinians displaced from Syria receive humanitarian aid and support similar to that received by Syrian nationals.

The right to freedoms of the press and expression •

Press

On 1st June 2014, Jordan’s new anti-terrorism law entered into effect following amendments to the original law number 55/2006. The new amendments broaden the definition of terrorism to include sowing discord, harming the environment, disturbing public order and any acts that threaten national and economic recourses.

The new law placed limitations on freedoms of the press and freedom of expression and grants courts the right to prosecute media on charges such as disseminating terrorist ideas. Jordanian officials had promised that State Security Court reform would put an end to all speech related prosecutions.

However, the new terrorism law amendments have prevented this from happening 26.

There have been increased restrictions on press freedoms in Jordan. On 5th August, the Audio-Visual Commission closed a satellite channel in Amman, referring the owner and 26 http://ar.alkarama.org/jordan/press-releases/ item/4845-2014-08-03-16-04-57 [Alkarama organisation: Jordan – New Prevention of Terrorism Act is incompatible with international human rights standards (Arabic source)]

one of its presenters to the public prosecutor on charges of violating the Press and Publications Law27. The closure followed the broadcast of a show featuring two members of a political opposition group28.

On 17th August, the Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu al-Ghanam ordered the arrest of Abdel-Hadi Al Majali, a columnist at al-Rai newspaper, for allegedly publishing state secrets on his Facebook page. Al Majali was released a week later after being officially charged with “divulging state secrets” and “insulting an official body” in an article about security services posted online. Since the Press and Publications Law prohibit imprisoning journalists over cases involving freedom of expression, Al Majali was charged in accordance with the Jordanian Penal Code29. On 24th August, the Audio-Visual Commission blocked the online publication ‘7iber’ for the fourth time in accordance with the stipulations of the Press and Publications Law that requires all online publications to obtain a licence or face closure. 7iber responded by changing its electronic domain. More 27 http://www.johinanews.com/print. php?nid=35721 [Johaina News: The Audio-Visual Commission has decided to shut down the channel “Urdun al-mustaqbal” (Arabic source)] 28 http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/04/01/ jordan-investigate-police-violence-againstprotesters 29 http://arabic.cnn.com/middleeast/2014/08/25/ jordan-release-journalist-post-facebook [Arabic CNN: Jordan releases journalist on bail after suspending him for one week over Facebook post (Arabic source)]

36 than 250 online news sites have been closed since the amendments came into effect30.

The Centre for Defending Freedoms of Journalists published a report in which it documented four breaches against 10 journalists. The report was released on 4th July and revealed that the photojournalist Khalifa was threatened by a Greater Amman Municipality employee who also confiscated his phone while he was taking pictures of the employee ordering the removal of illegal stands set up by sidewalk sellers. Members of security forces attacked eight journalists on 9th July while they were covering a sit-in protest outside Kalouti Mosque, close to the Israeli embassy in the Al-Rabiah area of Amman. The same report added that journalist Raeda Hamra received death threats on social media following a comment she posted on her Facebook page31.

Al-Jazeera photographer Ali Abu-Hilala was attacked at the University of Jordan by students who tried to prevent him from covering the Students Union elections. A reporter for Roya Television was also harassed attempting to cover the same elections32.

30 http://www.7iber.com/2014/12/7iber-isunblocked-after-getting-licensed/ 31 http://bit.ly/1wbzDYU [Al-tayyar: Four violations of press freedom in Jordan (Arabic source)] 32 http://www.skeyesmedia.org/extensions/ pdf/SKeyes_Quarterly_report_-_Jan-FebMar_2014_-_EN.pdf

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Assembly

The Jordanian police have persisted with their policy of employing excessive force against demonstrators and media personnel. On 19th September, authorities used excessive force to disperse a demonstration organised outside the Jordanian Parliament. The demonstrators were demanding the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador due to his compliance with the killing of the Palestinian-Jordanian Judge Raed Zeiter on the Jordan-Palestine border. This violent incident was met with strong condemnation from the Jordanian people and human rights organisations.

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RECOMMENDATIONS The Working Group on the UPR established in accordance with the Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18th June 2007 held its 17th session from 21st October to 1st November 2013. The review of Jordan was held at the 7th meeting on 24th October 2013. Jordan agreed to, but has yet to comply with, recommendations including: 1. Initiate a process of revision of the Penal Code and laws on publications, which includes civil society and international experts and is based on international standards.

2. Amend the Penal Code and relevant legislation to end impunity for torture and ensure victims the right to justice and compensation.

3. Continue its efforts on the alignment of national legislations and international standards and good practices of human rights, especially those on civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

4. Continue and strengthen efforts to prevent torture and ill treatment in detention facilities and ensure that all allegations of torture are promptly, thoroughly and independently investigated.

5. Continue its efforts to strengthen the role of its national mechanisms and institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights in the country, particularly those of women and children.

6. Provide the Jordanian National Centre for Human Rights and other relevant institutions with adequate human, technical and financial resources so that they can properly fulfil their mandate.

7. Continue and strengthen efforts to prevent torture and ill treatment in detention facilities and ensure that all allegations of torture are promptly, thoroughly and independently investigated.

8. Adopt further law amendments to abolish the State Security Court or, at a minimum, ensure that civilians are not tried for crimes not listed under the jurisdiction of the court and either release political activists in detention or try their cases in civilian courts.

9. Take appropriate legislative steps to ensure the full protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in particular with regard to electronic publications and online journalism.

10. Conduct impartial investigations into all cases of attacks, harassment and intimidation of journalists and bring perpetrators to justice.