Jordan: the U.N considers the detention of Al-Maqdisi by Jordanian authorities as arbitrary.
The U.N working group on arbitrary detentions came to a conclusion concerning the case of Mr. Issam Al-Otaibi, also known as "Abu Muhammad Almaqdisi". Alkarama organization has appealed on April 17 2007 to the working group to intervene urgently concerning this issue. Consequently, the working group declared during its last assembly held in Geneva at the end of Nov 2007 that the said detention is arbitrary, and Jordan is in violation of article 19 of the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights ratified by the Jordanian Kingdom.
As a reminder, Mr. Almaqdisi was born on March 7, 1959 in the town of Burqa and resides in the governate of Ar-Rusaifa. Almaqdisi is an author and a renowned scholar in Jordan and the Arab world who was detained several times by the Jordanian intelligence department who always claims that he "glorifies and encourages terrorism". He was initially detained from 1994-1999 and was eventually released; however, he was arrested again under the same pretense with other individuals, on Nov 2002. They were all charged with "conspiracy to commit terrorist acts". His arrest came after his appearance on Jordanian and Arab media where he justified the Palestinian Intifada and condemned the U.S foreign policy in the Arab world.
After his trial by state security court, which is a military judicial committee, he was acquitted according to the ruling declared on Dec27, 2004. At any rate, he was not released but transferred from "Qafqafa" jail, which is a public penal facility, to a secret detention center (Al-Jandaweel intelligence headquarters) near wadi-Seer area. There, he was detained covertly without a charge from Dec 27 to June 28, 2005.
Moreover, the authorities harassed him after his release, especially by curbing his movement and preventing him from visiting many cities in the country, including Irbid, As-Salt, and Ma'an. In addition, the government forced him to give televised affidavits.
After his release, many reporters interviewed him at his house where he voiced his opinion concerning the general situation in the Middle East. He specifically condemned the occupation of Iraq by US forces during an interview with Al-Jazeera channel on June 4, 2005.
Subsequently, he was arrested the day after (June 5, 2005) and kept under covert detention without legal warrant or charge. On the morning of the arrest, Deputy Premier and state spokesperson, Marwan Almua'sher stated on state T.V. that "the arrest of Almaqdesi was due to his foreign contacts with terrorist groups".
Consequently, he was detained for a whole year by the intelligence department without visitation rights until June 2006 when he finally received his family and informed them about the extreme conditions of his captivity in a very small prison cell. He also indicated that he is being held without due process and was denied the right to hire or even to see a lawyer.
The U.N working group sent on June 4, 2007 inquiries to the Jordanian government concerning this case; nevertheless, the authorities reaffirmed that Mr. Al-otaibi is a vocal radical and was arrested under the D.A's warrant for "conspiring to commit terrorist acts". In addition, they said that the detainee has visitation rights and there was a lawyer to defend him.
The authorities, however, did not clearly mention the legal date of neither Al-Otaibi's arrest nor the charge despite being acquitted by state court on Dec 27, 2004. Furthermore, the authorities covered up the real motives behind the arrest after his media appearance where he condemned the US occupation of Iraq, which reinforces the belief that the arrest was demanded by the American ambassador in Amman, as one lawyer stated.
The UN working group declared that the government charges are not clear; thus, it is considered that the detention is due to Al-Otaibi's political views that are contrary to the official government stance.
Alkarama has pointed out in a former correspondence with the U.N working group that Al-Otaibi was presented before a judge on April 14, 2007, after 2 years of his arrest where he was arraigned, but denied the right to have a lawyer present because the D.A refused to authorize the lawyer hired by the family.
Because of abuse, ill-treatment, and the lack of due process, Al-Otaibi went on a hunger strike on May15, 2007 as a form of objection.
He, furthermore, went on open hunger strike to protest his arbitrary detention and the neglect of his bad health.
The working group asked Jordan to rectify this arbitrary detention in accordance with its international commitment to human rights.
Alkarama is greatly concerned with the victim's current situation and will be monitoring the case until its client is eventually released.
http://en.alkarama.org/index.php?op...es-as-arbitrary&catid=24:communiqu&Itemid=120
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