Muslim Brotherhood member denied bail for second time

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on Monday refused to grant bail for Mohammad Saeed Baker, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood shura council who was arrested earlier this month for comments made during a pro-Gaza rally deemed to “undermine the state”.

This was the second time Baker was denied bail, according to his lawyer, Abdel Qader Al Khatib, who said the 40-year-old author and Islamic thinker is currently being held in solitary confinement at the Marka correctional facility.

In a separate decision on Monday, the SSC released on bail Brotherhood member Alaa Awad, who had been detained on similar charges for statements critical of the government’s response to the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza, according to Khatib.  

The two men are expected to stand trial for “undermining the state”, a penalty that carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, next month. 

Also on Monday, the court held the opening session for the trial of two Jihadi Salafists accused of promoting “terrorist ideology” over the Internet.

The defendants, Abdullah Abu Ghalous and Wassim Abu Ayash, pleaded not guilty to “promoting terrorist ideology over the Internet”, in violation of the recently passed Anti-Terrorism Law. 

The two men are accused of encouraging fellow Jordanians to join Islamist militants in Syria, including the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. 

Security officials say authorities have recently detained and charged 11 citizens for active membership in IS, all of whom are facing trial at the SSC.