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Fate of detained activists to be decided by court — PM

By JT - Jan 15,2017 - Last updated at Jan 16,2017

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Sunday said that the recent arrest of activists and their referral to the State Security Court was a pure judicial procedure and is in accordance with due process.

The court’s prosecutor had ordered the detention of former MP Wasfi Rawashdeh, retired Maj. Gen. Mohammad Otoum, Omar Assoufi, Hussam Abdullat, Abdulrahman Dweiri and Falah Khalaileh, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

The premier told lawmakers during a meeting yesterday that the suspects are accused of “carrying out acts of incitement that are prone to provoke the public opinion and have a negative impact on society”, acts that are punishable under Article 149, paragraph 1 of the Penal Code. 

He stressed that their fate will be decided by the “just and neutral Jordanian judiciary”, adding that the charges have nothing to do with freedom of expression. 

The prime minister said the government “respects freedom of expression as long as it is exercised in abidance with the Constitution and the law and does not compromise higher national interests”.

The arrest of the activists has drawn criticism from civil society. 

On Saturday, the Islamic Action Front (IAF) denounced the detention of “national figures and activists”, calling on the government to “immediately release all the arrested figures” and stop “suppressing public freedoms”.

 

In a statement, the IAF deemed the arrests as politically driven, coming on the backdrop of “the government’s failure in all economic, social and security aspects” of its mandate. 

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