Two Jihadi Salafist leaders to be released on bail

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on Wednesday decided to release on bail two Jihadi Salafist leaders who had been in prison since 2011, according to their defence lawyer.

The bail for Abed Al Tahawi, better known as Abu Mohammad Tahawi, and Bassam Nuaimi was set at JD5,000 each, Mousa Abdullat, the defence lawyer, said.

“The bail procedures are under way, and Tahawi and Nuaimi are expected to be released on Thursday,” Abdullat told The Jordan Times over the phone, adding they will attend a court hearing to look into their case next Wednesday.

Both Salafists were arrested in 2011 in Zarqa Governorate, some 22km east of Amman, during their participation in a “peaceful sit-in” at the rise of “the Arab Spring”, when a group of thugs attacked the Salafist march, the lawyer explained.

“At the incident, security authorities arrested some 200 people, around 150 of whom were Salafists,” Abdullat added.

The two leaders were charged with conducting terrorist acts, sowing sedition and sectarianism, and carrying out riots, the defence lawyer noted.

Abdullat said Nuaimi on Wednesday finished a 60-day hunger strike, during which he was admitted to hospital several times and was in critical condition.

He commended the bail decision, calling on the government to reconsider its approach to the Jihadi Salafist movement.

He noted that some 70 to 80 Jihadi Salafists face different charges before the SSC.