JNM, Amman, Jordan (Friday, May 2, 2008): On Thursday, May 3, 2007, shortly after 2:00PM, the thuggish dictator and madman King Abdullah II and his sick wife Queen Rania ordered the corrupt Minister of Interior Eid Al-Fayez to arrest Dr. Ahmed Oweidi Al-Abbadi. The accusations: Speaking up against corruption, lawlessness and human rights abuses in Jordan. On Tuesday, October 9, 2007, King Abdullah II’s Military Court issued a tragic and unjust verdict to imprison Dr. Al-Abbadi for two years.

In his solitarily cell, Dr. Al-Abbadi stands up tall like the mountains of Ajloan (north of Jordan) and the hilltops of Amman against such tyrannical and dictatorial regime that is full of uncivilized bandits, gangs and armed militias (Al-Darak) that terrorize the people of Jordan on a daily basis, steal and auction their national treasures, inheritance, and natural resources to foreign investors in exchange for cheap commissions to fatten their own personal accounts at the expense of poor and economically-suffocated Jordanians.

During his unjust imprisonment, Dr. Al-Abbadi has been subjected to inhumane practices and different types of psychological, mental and emotional pressure. He has received poor medical care throughout his imprisonment, severely undernourished and constantly intimidated by the General Intelligence Department. Dr. Al-Abbadi’s steadfastness against this brutal regime is a badge of honor for all those people who seek, cherish and support freedom in Jordan.

By his action towards Dr. Al-Abbadi, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania have depicted a dreadful picture of arbitrary and capricious detention and daunted arrests. King Abdullah II and his gangs are now operating with a massive network of informers and plunging into a level of repression never before documented. Human rights activists and journalists have been mute on the unfair detention of Dr. Al-Abbadi, reflecting the widespread fear now by those who would oppose the king and his intelligence community.

The unjust imprisonment of Dr. Al-Abbadi proves the effect of extreme deprivation and cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment to which he was subjected. The despicable collusion and brutality displayed by this stubborn king and his servant, the current Minister of Interior, civilian and military judges must not be replicated under any circumstances. We call upon all worldwide defenders of human rights to do everything within their power to hasten the release of Dr. Al-Abbadi, focus upon, censure and condemn human rights violations by King Abdullah II and his intelligence community and Gestapo-like security forces.

Cc:    President George W. Bush, The White House

          U.S. Dept. of State, Human Rights Division

          Members of the U.S. Congress

The U.S. Press, the International Press, and the Arab & Arab-American Press

          U.S. & Worldwide Human Rights Organizations

          Human Rights Watch, New York

          Amnesty International, United Kingdom

          The International Committee of the Red Cross

 Text of Press Release

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Jordan: Free Jailed Dissident

Political Prosecution Is Assault on Free Speech

(New York, September 28, 2007) – Jordan’s military prosecutor should halt the politically motivated prosecution of government critic Ahmad al-Oweidi al-‘Abbadi, Human Rights Watch said today. Jordan is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Friday, September 28.  

“The only reason al-‘Abbadi languishes in jail waiting for his court verdict is that he’s a government opponent exercising his right to free speech,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division.  
 
Al-‘Abbadi, a former parliamentarian and head of the Jordan National Movement, which describes itself as a pro-democracy organization, has been held without bail since he was arrested on May 2, 2007 on charges of belonging to an unlawful group and “disseminating ... news he knows to be false or exaggerated which undermine the psychology of the [Islamic] nation.” This followed the publication of an open letter to US Senator Harry Reid, alleging corruption on the part of Minister of Interior Eid al-Fayez, on the movement’s website.  
 
Human Rights Watch received a copy of the letter, which was one of several similar statements or documents published since October 2006 by the Jordan National Movement which have attracted threats. For example, following a March 3, 2007 statement in which the Movement urged US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to cancel King Abdullah’s address to the joint houses of Congress, the Jordanian authorities allegedly made threats to al-‘Abbadi and his family, including harassment by the intelligence department, threats to cut off the university education of al-‘Abbadi’s children abroad, and a warning to al-‘Abbadi to stop his activities in Jordan. Under Jordanian law, since the Jordan National Movement is not specifically licensed, it is therefore illegal.  
 
Al-‘Abbadi’s trial in the military-dominated State Security Court is set to conclude by October 4. So far in the trial, the only offense al-‘Abbadi has been alleged to have committed is the publication of the letter, which does not espouse violence or make any threats to public security or safety.  
 
Jordan’s prime minister may refer any case for prosecution at the State Security Court, whose judges he appoints based on recommendations by the minister of justice and the chief of staff of the armed forces. The State Security Court has denied al-‘Abbadi bail without providing a reason. He is charged for misdemeanors, which under Jordanian law do not require the defendant’s pre-trial detention.  
 
Under Jordanian law, requests for bail are the only way to challenge the lawfulness of one’s detention, a fundamental right of all detainees guaranteed by Article 9.4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Jordan is a party.  
 
“In Jordan there is a nefarious mix of outdated laws criminalizing free speech and prosecutors willing to use them again and again to silence regime critics,” Whitson said.

Printer-Freindly English Version: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/09/28/jordan16964.htm

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Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, wrote this story re: Dr. Al-Abbadi’s arrest:

Jordan scholar imprisoned for e-mails

By Borzou Daragahi
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

August 14, 2007

AMMAN, JORDAN — For an hour Monday morning, Bisher Oweidi held back. The 23-year-old college student saw his imprisoned father, Ahmad, for the first time in months.

The 62-year-old scholar has been held on political charges inside Jordan's Jwaideh prison since early May. Considerably thinner, he appeared tired by interrogations and worn by the routines of prison life.

"I held back my tears," Bisher, who is studying for a business degree in Spain, said in an interview after the visit. "I didn't want him to see me cry. After I got out of the prison, I started to cry."

Ahmad Oweidi, author of dozens of books about Jordan and its tribal roots as well as a controversial political activist, never took up arms or organized rallies. His group, the Jordanian National Movement, met once a month in living rooms, talking politics over coffee.

As leader of the small party, he mostly wrote e-mails decrying alleged corruption and human rights violations in Jordan to officials and newspapers.

But in Jordan, amid a crackdown on political dissent throughout pro-American Arab countries, Oweidi became an enemy of the state. The former lawmaker has been charged with heading an illegal organization, harming the government's reputation and violating the country's e-mail laws.

"He's not a troublemaker," said his wife, Jamila Abbadi. "He likes democracy. He likes to talk. He expresses his ideas."

Oweidi is an unlikely dissident. A member of a tribe associated with Jordan's security forces, he attained the rank of police colonel as a young man. He also studied in Britain and Egypt and wrote poetry and articles for small newspapers. He served in parliament from 1989 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2003.

"While he was in parliament, he talked about corruption," his wife said. "When his enemies came to power, they began to settle scores with him."

His family says he has been denied university posts because of his politics. He earns most of his money writing screenplays for soap operas. He was once arrested and released on sexual-assault charges he says were trumped up to discredit him.

Despite Washington's close ties with the Jordanian regime, Oweidi has maintained cordial relations with the U.S. Embassy in Amman, his family says.

"He's not calling for an Islamic state," Bisher said. "He's not against the monarchy. He's against the corruption of the royal court."

Oweidi's defenders say an April letter he wrote to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sparked his arrest. He alleged corruption involving the Jordanian Ministry of Interior and the court of King Abdullah II. He posted the note on the website of his political party.

Oweidi was arrested shortly after 2 p.m. on May 3, according to his family. He has been subjected to interrogation by security forces and hauled before courts, including a military tribunal. He pleaded not guilty at a court hearing last week.

Jordan's parliament this year passed a strict media law that imposes severe penalties for slander and defamation. New York-based Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders, the French free speech advocacy group, have denounced Oweidi's arrest and called for his release.

"This is the first time that someone has been arrested in Jordan because of what they posted online," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. "Using imprisonment to silence a government opponent and to cover up embarrassing scandals is unacceptable."

Bisher and his younger brother have put up a website, www.freeoweidi.com, to drum up support for their father's release.

Ahmad Oweidi, a staunch Arab nationalist, defends the role of Jordan's dominant Sunni tribes, sometimes alienating the country's majority Palestinians as well as other opposition groups. But many have now come to his defense.

"We disagree with him severely, but we don't think he should be put in jail," said Zaki Bani Arshid, head of the Islamic Action Front Party, Jordan's leading Islamic political group.

Oweidi and his wife have five children, all of them in college. During Monday's prison visit, Oweidi handed his family hundreds of pages of screenplays to sell for his family's needs.

One daughter, 20-year-old Zahra, was scheduled to marry last month, but put off the wedding.

"For now, our lives have stopped," Bisher said.

daragahi@latimes.com

Daragahi, based in Beirut, is currently on assignment in Amman.

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Also, Reporters Without Borders published this piece: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=22118