Jihadist leader released after 80-day detention — attorney

By Taylor Luck - Dec 30,2014 - Last updated at Dec 30,2014

AMMAN — Authorities on Tuesday released Jamil Riyan, a leading member of the hard-line Jihadi Salafist movement in Jordan, security sources said.

The cleric was released after authorities failed to provide “credible evidence” during his 80-day detention that he broke the law, according to Musa Abdallat, Riyan’s defence attorney.

Security services had arrested Riyan along with two other Salafists during an October 2 raid in the Baqaa Refugee Camp.

Security sources said authorities could not find credible evidence linking the cleric to the Islamic State (IS) group.

Riyan was known as an outspoken critic of IS and its internal war with Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Al Nusra in Syria, but he later came to its defence following the launch of the US-led coalition against the group in September.

Meanwhile, four suspected IS supporters were arrested in Amman on Monday, according to Abdallat.

Some 1,200 Jordanians serve under the umbrella of IS in both Iraq and Syria, Islamist sources claim.

The State Security Court has sentenced over 30 citizens to between three and five years in prison for links to or support for IS since September.

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