Brotherhood leader indicted for ‘harming ties’ with UAE

AMMAN — The prosecutor general of the State Security Court (SSC) on Monday indicted a leading Islamist leader for “harming Jordan’s ties with a foreign state”.

If convicted, Zaki Bani Rsheid, Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy overall leader, faces a “temporary imprisonment with hard labour” sentence, which ranges between 3-15 years, according to Articles 3 and 7 of the 2014 amended Anti-Terrorism Law.  

The defendant was indicted based on his Facebook comments attacking the UAE for labelling the Brotherhood a terrorist group earlier this year.

Saleh Armouti, head of Bani Rsheid’s defence team, said: “This charge contradicts the Constitution that guarantees the freedom of expression.”

“If he is found guilty, many Jordanians will be convicted for similar charges for merely expressing their opinions,” Armouti told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He announced that the defence team will hold a press conference on Wednesday to “announce measures they will adopt to defend Bani Rsheid”.

In recent statements, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said that Bani Rsheid’s arrest was not for expressing his views but rather for “his harmful remarks that could sour relations between Jordan and a friendly country”, which happens in this case to be a key supporter of Jordan, and the host of more than 225,000 Jordanian expatriates working there. 

According to the said law, comments and statements by individuals that could harm Jordan’s relations with a foreign country is considered a form of terrorism, which, according to the Constitution, falls within the SSC’s jurisdiction.