Democratic Palestine : 22 (ص 24)

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Democratic Palestine : 22 (ص 24)

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or where Mr. Abdel Malek is being de-
tained. They refused the request of the
International Red Cross to meet him
and see the circumstances of his deten-
tion. It is noteworthy that Ali Abdel
Malek was arrested several times
before, most recently at the end of
March 1983.
On January 19th, the authorities ar-
rested the student militant, Luai
Ahmad Dabbagh, former member of
the executive committee of the General
Union of Jordanian Students. He is
married and has two daughters.
On January 6th, the authorities de-
tained Dr. Said Mustafa Zyab, member
of the Jordanian Doctors’ Union, after
savagely searching his home and clinic.
Dr. Zyab has heart problems; he is
married.
On January 10th, the authorities de-
tained Mr. Mahmoud Fakhry Assalhi,
member of the administrative commit-
tee of the youth center in Al Hussein
camp.
On January 8th, the authorities ar-
rested the citizen, Abdel Aziz
Mahmoud Naeem.
The security forces also arrested
scores of other citizens, among them:
the militant, Yousef Al Rajoub, who
had been exiled from the occupied ter-
ritories (Palestine), lawyer Salah Bader,
and writer Omar Shabbanah, member
of the Jordanian Writers’ League.
CONVICTIONS
A military court sentenced Mrs.
Huda Ahmad Oala to three years in jail
on charges of membership in the
Democratic Front’s organization in
Jordan. Mrs. Huda Ogqla was arrested
on November 26, 1986. She is the first
woman to be arrested and convicted on
political charges. The Committees for
the Defense of Democratic Freedoms in
Jordan are informed that she was sub-
jected to torture and humiliation by the
investigators from the moment of her
detention and during her interrogation
at the Irbid branch of the General In-
telligence. Mrs. Oqla is married and the
mother of seven children.
The military court sentenced the
student union activist Mazin Abdel
Wahid Al Asaad under martial law to
three years of imprisonment on charges
of being a member of an ‘illegal
organization’. This student militant
24
was detained in October 1985, as a
result of the regime’s terrorist cam-
paign against the Jordanian univer-
sities. This is the second time he has
been convicted on the same charge,
which is contradictory to Jordanian
law. A_ military court previously
sentenced him to five years imprison-
ment which ended in early 1983.
A military court, under martial law,
also sentenced Amer Kerdasha, a
medical student at the Jordanian
University, to three years imprison-
ment. Mr. Kerdasha has been detained
several times before by the General In-
telligence: In April 1985, he spent
several months in the intelligence jails,
and then was rearrested in October
1985. After his release, he was once
again arrested in late 1986 and brought
to trial early this year.
Several other political and union
militants were brought to military
courts. Recently the trial of Hasan
Annajjar and Munier Yousef started,
on charges of being ‘members of an il-
legal organization’. The trials of other
citizens in military courts on the same
charges has ended. Hasan Abu Zied,
Fayes Al Sharif and Ahmad Al
Muhseiry are awaiting the military
court’s decision to impose imprison-
ment on them.
SILENCING THE PRESS,
PARLIAMENT AND YOUTH
As for other human rights’ viola-
tions, the Jordanian authorities con-
tinue to breach freedom of the press
and to intervene illegally in the func-
tioning of unions. The authorities lately
issued a decree whereby several jour-
nalists were prevented from writing in
newspapers. Among them are: Abdel
Rahim Omar, Fahd Al Rimawi, Tareq
Masarwah, Khalid Mhadin, Rakan Al
Majali and Fahd AI Fank. The
authorities also issued a decision to
discharge the journalist Mohammad
Said Madhyah from his post at Saut Al
Shaab newspaper on a_ tyrannical
pretext - that he was absent from his
job for no reason, knowing in fact that
he was detained at the time. Security
forces are also conducting a pursuit and
terror campaign against Jordanian
journalists who work for foreign news
agencies and newspapers, whenever
they publish reports that are not in ac-
cordance with the trend of the official
policy.
There have also been violations of
parliamentary rights. The government
forbade parliament members from
publishing a statement of solidarity
(with Syria after Britain cut relations)
in the Jordanian press. This led to a
forceful argument between represen-
tative Leith Al Shablani and Informa-
tion Minister Mohammad AI Khatib.
The argument ended in a closed
meeting between Prime Minister Zeid
Al Rifa’i and 25 members of parlia-
ment. The prime minister talked about
the utmost necessity of restraining the
political activities of the Representative
Council. The results later became ap-
parent when the government forbade
representatives from _ sending
memoranda condemning the continua-
tion of the war of the camps in
Lebanon, and calling for its immediate
halt.
In another field, the Jordanian
authorities continued their campaign
against the 12 UNRWA youth clubs
and centers in Jordan. After joining
these centers to the Youth Ministry, the
Jordanian security authorities
disbanded the elected administrative
committees of some of these centers
and appointed new administrative
committees.
At Yarmouk University, where there
was a Savage massacre of students by
the security forces last May, the
university administration, with counsel
from the security authorities, formed a
committee to investigate a number of
students on charges of «violating honor
and dignity.» This was after the
students staged a peaceful sit-in at the
university in solidarity with the besieg-
ed Palestinian camps in Lebanon, and
with the students at Bir Zeit University
in occupied Palestine.
The Committee for the Defense of
Democratic Freedoms in Jordan called
on all to express their solidarity by is-
suing press statements, writing about
and discussing this matter in media
circles, and contacting the Jordanian
government, demanding that it stop its
violations of human rights and release
all political prisoners, especially the
distinguished nationalist leader, Azmi
Al Khawaja. @

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Democratic Palestine : 22

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