(HRW/IFEX) – Police arrested Ali Sneid, a 25-year old Jordanian writer from a small village near Madaba, on 26 September 1997 at the bus station in Madaba as he was boarding a bus for the village of Ziban. Sneid had recently written an article that criticized a local leader for making what he perceived to […]
(HRW/IFEX) – Police arrested Ali Sneid, a 25-year old Jordanian
writer from a small village near Madaba, on 26 September 1997 at
the bus station in Madaba as he was boarding a bus for the
village of Ziban.
Sneid had recently written an article that criticized a local
leader for making what he perceived to be disparaging remarks
about several prominent independent political figures in a speech
delivered in Madaba in the presence of King Hussein and which was
broadcast on national television. Newspapers declined to publish
the article, so Sneid made copies of it and planned to circulate
it himself. Sneid was initially held in the custody of the
General Intelligence Department in Amman and on 2 October was
transferred to Jwaideh Prison, in southern Amman, where he is
currently being held. He is being investigated for allegedly
violating Article 195 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes
expression that is considered to violate the dignity of the King.
On 7 October, the state security court refused the application by
Sneid’s lawyer to have his client released on bail.
For the first week after his arrest, Sneid was held in
incommunicado detention and his family was not informed that he
was in the custody of the General Intelligence Department. After
his transfer to Jwaideh prison, Sneid was allowed visits but
informed his lawyer that he fears for his safety because he is
being held in a cell with violent criminals. Prison guards have
shaved his head, a practice usually reserved for criminal, rather
than political, prisoners.
In 1996, Sneid wrote a play about the trial of Laith Shubeilat,
the president of the Jordanian Engineers Association and an
outspoken critic of government policies who was tried and
convicted by the state security court in 1996 for violating
Article 195 of the Penal Code. Just prior to Shubeilat’s release
by the King on 8 November 1996, Sneid had been circulating copies
of his play. He was arrested by security forces and detained for
several days.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
Civil and Political Rights, to which Jordan is a state party,
guarantees the right of individuals “to seek, receive, and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers”
human right
criminal offence, he be released immediately
Appeals To
His Majesty King Hussein bin Talal
King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
The Royal Palace
Amman
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Fax: +962 6 634 755His Excellency Abdul Al-Salam Al-Majali
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
PO Box 80
Amman
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Fax: +962 6 642 520His Excellency Riad Shakaa
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
Amman
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Telegram: Minister of Justice, Amman, JordanHis Excellency Natheer Irshid
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior
Amman
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Fax: +962 6 606 908
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
