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Jordan jails Brotherhood leader for 'harming' UAE ties

February 15, 2015 at 4:21 pm

A Jordanian court on Sunday sentenced the deputy leader of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood group to 18 months in prison for “harming” relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The court said that has reduced an original three-year jail sentence against Zaki Bani Irsheid.

Sunday’s verdict is subject to appeal.

Last November, Jordanian authorities arrested Irsheid over statements he made against the UAE after it had designated the Brotherhood a “terrorist organization.”

The Brotherhood leader was charged with committing acts not sanctioned by the government and harming relations with a friendly country.

Irsheid’s lawyer, Saleh al-Armouti, had told Anadolu Agency that his client’s trial was “politically driven.”

He dismissed as unconstitutional the anti-terrorism law under which the Brotherhood leader was brought to trial.