Muslim Brotherhood deputy leader Bani Rsheid defiant as trial begins

AMMAN — The Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy overall leader, Zaki Bani Rsheid, was defiant in his opening trial session on Thursday, declaring the State Security Court (SSC) “unconstitutional” as his legal team argued that the tribunal lacked the mandate to prosecute his case.

Bani Rsheid said the SSC operated outside the judicial branch and lacked the mandate to try him for “harming Jordan’s relations with a foreign state”.

“With all my due respect to the judiciary, I am before you against my will and my convictions as this court is unconstitutional, illegal and lacks the authority to try any civilian under these charges,” he said in his opening statement.

Bani Rsheid argued that his alleged offence — publishing a statement critical of the United Arab Emirates via the social networking site Facebook — fell under the Press and Publications Law, rather than the Anti-Terrorism Law, and therefore was under the jurisdiction of civilian courts.

“Therefore I consider this court, and the decisions it issues to be null and void,” Bani Rsheid said in a courtroom packed with over 25 journalists.

Heading the defence team, former Jordan Bar Association president Saleh Armouti delivered a half-hour, 13-page speech arguing against the SSC’s jurisdiction to try Bani Rsheid and the constitutional nature of the charges against him.

In its statement, the defence highlighted a decision by the Court of Appeals issued on November 17, ruling that the SSC is “not specialised” in hearing cases of defendants charged with “harming Jordan’s relations with a foreign state”.

The decision, issued in reply to a request by a civilian state prosecutor in Deir Alla, argued that the charge falls under Article 118 of the Penal Code and is “outside the jurisdiction of the State Security Court”. 

The ruling was issued three days before authorities arrested Bani Rsheid on November 20.

“The Appeals Court already ruled that the State Security Court has no jurisdiction in this case, meaning that the arrest, detention and trial of Zaki Bani Rsheid was illegal from the start,” noted Armouti, who is heading a team of eight defence attorneys who were present at the trial. 

Armouti also denied that Bani Rsheid’s statements impacted Jordan’s ties with the UAE, noting that an official delegation headed by Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is set to travel to Jordan on Saturday to sign a series of cooperation agreements with the government.

“How can my client be charged with harming the relations between Jordan and the UAE — Arab, Muslim, brotherly countries — when ties are as close as ever and have not been hindered?”

The lawyer cited Article 15 of the Constitution, guaranteeing “free speech for every Jordanian” and Article 17 granting citizens “the right to address public authorities” to argue that trying Bani Rsheid for his political statements was “unconstitutional”.

The defence team went on to denounce the SSC itself as “unconstitutional”, highlighting Article 27 of the Constitution which states that “the judicial authority is an independent authority.” 

The president, and military and civilian judges of the SSC are directly appointed by the prime minister, a stipulation that violates the separation between the executive and judicial authorities, they argued. 

In his initial response, SSC Prosecutor Fawaz Otoum affirmed that Bani Rsheid was being charged under articles 3 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, which criminalises any act “harming the Kingdom’s relations with a foreign state” and falls squarely under the jurisdiction of the SSC. 

Over 130,000 Jordanians live and work in the UAE, Otoum said, arguing that “a large portion of Jordanian society would be affected by such statements.”

The prosecutor refuted charges that the court was “unconstitutional”, noting that the SSC was established by a law and constitutional amendment endorsed by Parliament and left unchanged by the recent constitutional amendments.

Otoum dismissed claims that Bani Rsheid’s offence fell under the Press and Publications Law, noting that “Facebook is not a Jordanian website and therefore is not covered under the law.”

The court, presided by military judge Raed Izmiqna, moved to continue proceedings on December 22, during which the court will respond to the defence’s statements and decide whether to continue the trial. 

During Thursday’s session, tens of Islamist supporters protested outside the court, chanting “Release political prisoners” and “No to trying civilians in a military court”.

Bani Rsheid was arrested outside the Brotherhood’s Amman headquarters last month in response to a statement posted on Facebook in which he accused the UAE of promoting “Zionist” foreign policies and indirectly sponsoring “extremism” in the region.